UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT    LOS  ANGELES 


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ANTARCTICA 


ANTARCTICA 


BY 


EDWIN   SWIFT   BALCH 

A.   B.   (Harvard);    Member  Philadelphia  Bar;   Appalachian   Mountain  Club; 

Franklin  Institutk;   American  Philosophical  Societv  ;  Cor.   Mem. 

SOCIEDAD    Cientifica    Antonio    Alzate,    Me.\ico  ;    WvOMINli 

Historical  and  Geological  Society,  Wilkes-Barre; 

Author  of  "  Mountain  Exploration," 
"Glaci6res  or  Freezing  Caverns,"   etc. 


Philadelphia 

PRESS   OF   ALLEN,    LANE   &   SCOTT 

1902 


Copyright,  1902,  by 
EUWIN  SWIFT  BALCH. 


<i3 

CO 


•J 


^  TO    THE    MEMORY    OF 

-^  CHARLES  WILKES,    NATHANIEL   B.    PALMER, 
g  THE   AMERICAN   SEALERS, 

O  AND    THE 

t-J 

O 


OFFICERS  AND  MEN  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY, 

WHO    EXPLORED    THE    ANTARCTIC. 


t:49318 


"The  ship  drove  fast,   loud  roared  the  blast 
And  southward  aye  we  fled. 

"And  now  there  came  both  mist  and  snow, 
And  it  grew  wondrous  cold : 
And  ice,  mast  high,  came  floating  by. 
As  green  as  emerald. 

"And  through  the  drifts  the  snowy  clifts 
Did  send  a  dismal  sheen  : 
Nor  shapes  of  men  nor  beasts  we  ken — 
The  ice  was  all  between. 

' '  The  ice  was  here,  the  ice  was  there, 
The  ice  was  all  around  : 

It  cracked  and  growled,   and  roared  and  howled, 
Like  noises  in  a  swound  !  " 

Coleridge. 


CONTENTS. 


-4«»— 


PAGB. 

Introduction     9 

I.  The  legendary  "Terra  Australis  Incognita" 

AND    VOYAGES     LEADING    FROM    A     BELIEF    TO    A 
DISBELIEF    IN    IT II 

II.  Voyages  up  to  and  including  the  discovery 

OF    THE    continent    OF    ANTARCTICA 73 

iii.  v'oyages    subsequent    to    the    discovery    of 

the  continent  of  antarctica i67 

Index 215 

MAPS. 

Reproduction  of  a  portion  of  "chart  of  South 
Shetland"  by  George  Powell   .    .    .  Facing  page     96 

Reproduction  of  a  portion  of  the  charts  pub- 
lished BY  Lieutenant  Wilkes  and  Sir  J.  C. 
Ross Facing  page    184 

Chart  of  Antarctica     At  end  of  volume. 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  monograph  orig-inated  in  a  letter — asserting 
the  discovery  by  Americans  of  the  South  Polar  conti- 
nent— which  I  wrote  to  The  Nation,  New  York,  and 
which  was  published  in  that  paper  and  also  in  The 
Evening  Post,  New  York,  on  May  loth,  1900.  The 
difficulty  of  obtaining  accurate  information  about  the 
Antarctic  induced  further  research,  the  results  of 
which  were  embodied  in  a  paper  "  Antarctica,  a  his- 
tory' of  Antarctic  Discovery."  This,  through  the 
kindness  of  Mr.  F.  Lynwood  Garrison  and  Dr.  Will- 
iam H.  Wahl,  was  published  in  The  Jorirnal  of  the 
Frayiklin  Institute,  1901,  Vol.  CLI.,  pages  241-262, 
321-341,  413-428,  Vol.  CLII.,  pages  26-45;  and  of 
this  paper  the  present  book  is  an  enlargement,  con- 
taining a  number  of  changes  and  corrections  and 
much  additional  material  collected  in  some  of  the 
more  important  European  libraries. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  impossible  that  this  work  should 
be  complete  or  more  than  approximately  accurate. 
The  records  of  the  Antarctic  are  lamentably  imper- 
fect, except  in  the  case  of  the  few  national  expedi- 
tions and  of  one  or  two  of  the  sealing  voyages.  Of 
some  of  the  latter  only  brief  notes  were  published ; 


of  others,  accounts  possibly  remain  in  the  shape  of 
log  books  still  in  manuscript;  while  of  others,  doubt- 
less all  trace  has  disappeared.  Then  again  the  rarer 
books  and  documents  are  not  found  in  any  one  spot. 
This  prevents  in  many  cases  verifying  the  quotations 
and  data,  jotted  down  in  pencil  from  the  originals 
in  various  libraries,  by  referring  anew  to  the  origi- 
nals, and  a  certain  number  of  errors  due  to  mistakes 
in  transcription  are  therefore  unavoidable.  It  is 
hoped,  however,  that  this  book  is  a  step  towards 
clearing  up  the  story  of  the  Antarctic,  and  especially 
that  it  may  incite  other  geographers  to  make  further 
researches  into  the  original  records. 

A  number  of  gentlemen  have  helped  me  in  one 
way  or  another.  I  am  especially  indebted  to  Mr. 
Henryk  Arctowski,  of  Brussels;  Mr.  J.  Bruggeman, 
of  the  Hague ;  Dr.  Frederick  A.  Cook,  of  Brooklyn ; 
Professor  George  Davidson,  of  San  Francisco ;  Mon- 
sieur Graz,  of  Paris;  Mr.  George  C.  Hurlbut  and 
Mr.  V.  H.  Paltsits,  of  New  York  City ;  Mr.  G.  W. 
Littlehales  and  Mr.  P.  Lee  Phillips,  of  Washington, 
D.  C. ;  Mr.  J.  T.  Kiernan  and  Mr.  P.  H.  Tufts,  of 
Cambridge,  Mass. ;  Dr.  W.  E.  Peschel  and  Dr.  Ar- 
tluir  Richter,  of  Dresden;  Mr.  J.  P.  de  Sauvage,  of 
Leyden  ;  Captain  C.  C.  Todd,  of  the  United  States 
Navy;  and  Mr.  A.  J.  Drexel-Biddle,  Mr.  Edward 
Miles,  Mr.  Bunford  Samuel,  and  Mr.  Harvey  M. 
Watts,  of  Philadelphia. 


ANTARCTICA. 


I. 

THE  LEGENDARY  "TERRA  AUSTRALIS  INCOGNITA"  AND 
VOYAGES  LEADING  FROM  A  BELIEF  TO  A  DISBELIEF 
IN   IT. 

"Antarctica"  is  a  term  which  is  slowly  coming  into 
use  to  designate  the  continent  which  probably  extends 
across  the  regions  of  the  South  Pole.  The  word  itself 
is  an  old  one,  since  one  of  the  letters  of  Amerigo 
Vespucci  was  issued  at  Strasburg  in  1505  under  the 
title  of  Be  [De]  Ora  Antarctica.  As  a  proper  name, 
"Antarctica"  is  recent,  but  it  seems  probable  that  it 
will  be  adopted  generally  for  the  lands  around  the 
South  Pole;  the  expression  "the  Antarctic"  con- 
tinuing to  be  used  as  the  appellation  of  the  entire 
region,  including  lands,  islands,  ice  and  ocean.  While 
both  terms  are  still  somewhat  vague,  the  last  one  is 
especially  so,  for  geographers  are  not  yet  agreed  as 
to  the  limits  of  the  Antarctic.  It  undoubtedly  includes 
everything  south  of  60°  south  latitude,  but  probably 
an  irregular  line  of  demarcation  would  represent  its 
area  more  accurately :  for  it  seems  as  if  Bouvet  and 


12  ANTARCTICA. 

Kerguelen  Islands  and  South  Georgia,  for  many  rea- 
sons, such  as  their  fauna,  their  climate  and  their  physi- 
cal characteristics,  belonged  to  the  Antarctic  proper. 
However  this  may  be,  and  whatever  the  limits  event- 
ually assigned  to  austral  regions  by  geographers, 
the  term  "the  Antarctic"  will  be  used  in  this  mono- 
graph to  designate  the  south  polar  region,  including 
Bouvet  and  Kerguelen  Islands  and  South  Georgia,  as 
a  whole,  and  the  term  "Antarctica"  will  be  used  to 
designate  the  great  mass  or  masses  of  land  in  the 
nei<rhborhood  of  the  South  Pole  itself 

There  is,  however,  a  lacuna  in  antarctic  nomencla- 
ture which  slowly  forced  itself  to  my  notice  while 
attempting  to  unravel  somewhat  the  tangled  antl  im- 
perfect records  of  south  polar  exploration,  and  that 
is  that  there  is  no  generic  name,  either  for  the  lands 
south  of  Australia  or  for  the  lands  south  of  South 
America.  For  the  name  "Antarctic  Continent"  given 
by  Wilkes  when  he,  first  of  all  men,  became  aware 
that  there  was  a  continent  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
South  Pole,  must  be  held  to  include  the  lands  south  of 
South  America,  as  well  as  those  south  of  Australia : 
and  moreover  the  name  "Antarctic  Continent"  is 
rapidly  becoming  superseded,  as  a  generic  term,  by 
the  shorter  "Antarctica."  The  want  of  a  name  for  the 
lands  south  of  South  America,  however,  is  especially 
troublesome,  for  all  the  names  at  present  in  use — 
South  Shetland,  Louis  Philippe  Land,  Palmer  Land, 
Foyn    Land,    Graham    Land,   Alexander    Land  —  are 


EAST    ANTARCTICA,  WEST   ANTARCTICA.  1 3 

Strictly  local.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  find 
some  term  in  place  of  the  cumbersome  phrases  "the 
lands  south  of  Australia"  and  "the  lands  south  of 
South  America"  and  taking  North  America  and 
South  America  as  models,  it  seems  as  if  "  East  Ant- 
arctica "  and  "West  Antarctica"  answered  the  neces- 
sity satisfactorily.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether 
other  geographers  will  see  fit  to  adopt  these  terms, 
but  they  will  be  used  in  this  monograph  for  the  sake 
of  convenience,  brevity  and  clearness.' 

'  Sir  Clements  R.  Markham,  the  President  of  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society,  proposed  in  1 899  (  The  Geographical  Journal, 
1899,  Vol.  XIV.,  pages  473-481  :  "  The  Antarctic  Expeditions,") 
to  divide  the  Antarctic  into  four  quadrants,  each  covering  ninety 
degrees  of  longitude,  and  to  bear  Englisli  names.  On  the  score 
of  convenience,  this  proposal  has  nothing  to  recommend  it :  for 
there  is  no  way  by  which  anyone  can  associate  the  positions  of 
these  so  called  quadrants  with  the  proposed  names.  On  the  score 
of  justice,  this  suggestion  is  even  worse :  for  it  is  evidently  abso- 
utely  unfair  that  only  English  names  should  be  commemorated. 
If  any  such  arrangement  were  ever  adopted,  it  should  be  so  only 
by  an  international  agreement,  and  international  courtesy  would 
certainly  require  that  the  names  of  Bellingshausen,  D'Urville  and 
Wilkes  should  be  remembered.  It  is  inconceivable,  however,  that 
geographers  will  adopt  as  it  stands  this  unique  proposition. 

Edward  Stanford,  12,  13  and  14,  Long  Acre,  London,  W.  C. , 
published  a  "  Soutli  Polar  Chart"  on  22nd  July  1901,  showing 
Sir  C.  R.  Markham' s  quadrants.  In  refreshing  contrast  is  the 
map  published  in  The  Graphic,  London,  August  10,  1901,  Vol. 
LXIV,  page  172,  by  Dr.  J.  Scott  Keltie,  the  able  Secretary  of 
the  Royal  Geographical  Society.  This  gentleman  marks  Wilkes 
Land  and  divides  the  Antarctic  into  ' '  German  Sphere  of  Explora- 
tion" and  "  British  Sphere  of  E.xploration." 


14  ANTAKCTICA. 

Of  no  part  of  the  world  is  so  little  known  as  about 
the  Antarctic,  and  about  none  has  there  been  so  little 
interest  taken.  This  is  probably  due,  partly  to  its  dis- 
tance from  the  centers  of  thought,  and  partly  also  to 
its  lack  of  life,  both  of  animals  and  of  men.  The  hu- 
man interest  is  entirely  absent  in  the  desolate  wastes 
of  the  South  Pole,  and  not  the  least  curious  fact  con- 
nected with  them  is  that  there  is  no  apparent  record 
of  any  woman  having  passed  beyond  60°  south  lati- 
tude. How  great  a  part  of  the  world's  surface  still 
remains  unexplored  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact, 
so  well  explained  by  Dr.  Reiter,^  that  the  continent  of 
Antarctica  may  be  about  as  large  as  the  portion  of 
South  America  extending  from  Cape  Hoorn  to  Manaos 
and  at  its  widest  point  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
Dr.  Supan^  also  gives  a  clue  as  to  tlie  dimensions 
of  the  unknown  south,  when  he  says  that  "  the  en- 
tirely unknown  Arctic  is  at  least  as  big  as  European 
Kussia,  while  the  unknown  Antarctic  is  twice  as  big 
as  Europe." 

That  this  continent  was  bigger  in  former  aeons 
scarcely   admits   a   doubt.'     In    all    probability    Ant- 

''  Zeilschn/t  fiir  wissc?isckaft/icJte  Geographic,  Woimar,  VI., 
1888,  pages  1-30: — Reitcr,  Dr.  Hans:  "  Die  Siidpolaifiagc  uiul 
ihre  Bedeutung  fur  die  genetische  Gliederung  der  Erdoberflache." 
This  paper  is  illustrated  with  a  chart  sliovving  the  probable  outlines 
of  Antarctica. 

^  Dr.  A.  Pctcrvtami s  Milleilungen,  Gotha,  43  Band,  1897, 
pages  15-18: — Siiijan,  Alex.  :  "Unbekannte  Polargebiete." 

*  This  paragraph  is  founded  on  Mr.  Forbes'  interesting 
paper  :  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithson- 


SIZE    AND    FORMER    EXTENSION    OF    ANTARCTICA.        1 5 

arctica  has  been  connected  with  South  America,  Aus- 
tralia and  New  Zealand,  and  South  Africa:  most 
likely  not  with  all  three  at  the  same  time.  This  is 
evidenced  by  the  living  and  fossil  faunas  and  floras 
of  these  lands.  For  instance,  in  the  ostrich  group, 
there  are  living  the  ostrich  in  Africa,  the  rhea  in  South 
America,  the  emu  in  Australia,  the  cassowary  in  New 
Guinea ;  and  there  are  extinct  the  aepyornis  in  Mada- 
gascar, the  brontornis  in  Patagonia,  the  moa  in  New 
Zealand,  and  the  dromormis  in  Australia.  The  owl- 
parrots  and  keas  of  New  Zealand  resemble  the  macaws 
of  South  America.  The  southern  salmon  and  south- 
ern pikes  are  common  to  New  Zealand,  Patagonia 
and  the  Falklands.  Among  plants  "  the  genus  cryto- 
carya  of  the  perseacece  is  common  to  New  Zealand, 
South  Africa  and  South  America,  while  among  the 
genera  of  other  families  we  find  some  occurring  in 
Africa,  or  Madagascar  and  Australia,  some  in  Tasma- 
nia and  South  America  only ;  while  others  crop  up  in 
South  Africa  and  Australia,  or  New  Zealand,  or  in 
New  Zealand  and  South  America  only."  In  fact  it  is 
highly  probable  that  many  forms  of  terrestrial  life  had 

ian  Institution,  to  July  1894  ;  Washington,  Government  Print- 
ing Office,  1896,  pages  297-316: — Forbes,  Henry  O.  :  "Ant- 
arctica, a  vanished  austral  land."  Reprinted  from  the  Fort- 
nightly Review,  February,  1894,  Vol.  LV.,  New  Ser. ,  No.  126. 
There  is  also  a  note  on  the  similarity  of  some  earth  worms  in 
New  Zealand,  Patagonia,  and  South  Georgfia  in  Nature,  London 
&  New  York,  Vol.  LIII.,  1 895-1 896,  page  129: — Beddard,  Frank 
E. :  "The  former  northward  extension  of  The  Antarctic  Conti- 
nent." 


1 6  ANTARCTICA. 

the  original  center  of  their  development  and  dispersal 
in  Antarctica. 

That  some  great  land  existed  near  the  South  Pole 
seems  to  have  been  guessed  at  centuries  ago.  It  is 
hard  to  see  on  what  the  belief  rested,  but  it  lasted 
until  Captain  Cook's  second  voyage.  The  ancients 
surmised  that  land  existed  somewhere  below  the 
Equator  and  this  belief  descended  as  a  sort  of  legend 
in  books  and  maps.^  There  is  no  apparent  evidence, 
however,  to  show  that,  before  the  third  voyage  of 
Amerigo  Vespucci,  any  ideas  about  the  far  southern 
regions  were  based  on  anything  but  imagination. 

It  is  possible  that  a  Chaldaean,  Seleukos,  started  the 
idea  of  a  southern  continent.  Dr.  Ruge,"  a  careful 
student,  tells  us  that  Seleukos  was  an  inhabitant  of 
the  town  of  Seleukeia  on  the  Tigris,  and  that  he  lived 
between  about  170  B.  C.  and  125  B.  C.     Dr.  Ruge's 

'  There  are  at  least  three  vakiable  bibliographies  of  papers  and 
books  about  the  Antarctic  : 

Chavanne,  Dr.  Josef;  Karpf,  Dr.  Alois;  LeMonnier,  Franz, 
Ritter  von  :  Die  Literatur  uber  die  Polar  Rcgionen  der  Erde  ; 
Wien,  1878;  Verlag  der  K.  K.  Geog.  Ges.  oder  bci  Ed.  Holzel: 
(Soc.  de  G6og.  Paris). 

Scottish  Geographical  Magazine,  Vol.  XIV.,  Edinburgh,  1898, 
pages  563-570: — Bartholomew,  J.  G. ,  F.  R.  S.  E.,  Hon.  Sec. 
R.  S.  G.  S.  :  "Antarctic  Bibliography." 

The  Antarctic  Manual,  London,  Royal  Geographical  Society, 
1901  ;  pages  515-580: — Mill,  Dr.  Hugh  Robert:  "A  Bibliography 
of  Antarctic  E.xploration  and  Research." 

*  Ruge,  Dr.  Sophus :  Der  Chaldder  Seleukos,  Dresden,  G. 
Schijnfeld,  1865:  (British  Museum). 


BELIEFS   OF   THE    ANCIENTS.  1 7 

researches  led  him  to  the  conclusion'  "that  the  last 
provable  source  for  the  hypothesis  of  Ilipparchus, 
Marinus  and  Ptolemy  is  to  be  found  in  Seleukos. 
The  Babylonian  is  therefore  the  oldest  savant,  who 
set  forth  a  closed-in  southern  sea." 

Hipparchus  is  supposed  to  have  believed  in  a 
southern  continent.  At  least  Vivien  de  Saint  Mar- 
tin^ published  a  map  "Carte  d'Hipparque  vers 
150  av.  J.  C."  in  which  the  African  coast  extends 
east  from  Zanzibar,  runs  beyond  Taprobane  (India) 
and  then  rejoins  Asia,  forming  a  closed  Erythryan 
Sea. 

Aristotle"  speaks  of  two  segments  of  the  habitable 
earth,  of  which  one  is  towards  the  north,  and  the  other 
towards  the  south. 

Dr.  Franz  Wieser'"  says  that  Krates,  Eratosthenes, 
in    fact   the    Alexandrine    philosophers,    believed    in 

'  Der  Chaldder,  etc.,  page  22. 

*  Atlas  dressB  pour  V Histoire  de  la  Geographic,  etc.,  Paris, 
Hachette,  1874;  Planche  II.,  No.  VI. 

^  Aristotelis  Opera  Onuiia,  etc.  *  *  *  Authore  Guilleimo 
Du  Val  *  *  *  Lutetiae  *  *  =i=  MDCXIX.  :  (Lib.  Co. 
Pliiladelphia) :  "  Meteorologicorum,"  Lib.  II.,  Chap.  V.  :  "Nam 
cum  terrae  habitabilis  segmenta  duo  sint,  &  altera  ad  sublimiorem 
verticem  qui  apud  nos  est,  altera  ad  alterum  &  meridiem  posita 
sit,  atque  tympani  speciem  praeferat,  talem  profecto  terrae  fig- 
uram  linea  £l  centro  ipsius  ductae  dissecant,  atque  turbines  duos 
efficiunt :  "  etc. 

'°  Wieser,  Dr.  Franz  :  Magalhah  Strasse  iind  Austral  Conti- 
nent an/  den  Globen  des  Johannes  Schbner,  Innsbruck,  Wagner' - 
schen  Universitaets-Buchhandlung,  1881,  page  59. 


1 8  ANTARCTICA. 

southern  lands.  Mr.  R.  H.  Major"  states  that  Aratus, 
Strabo,  and  Geminus  held  opinions  similar  to  Aris- 
tode. 

There  is  a  paragraph  in  Pomponius  Mela'*  saying 
that  the  earth  is  divided  into  five  zones,  of  which  the 
middle  one  is  burnt  up  with  heat,  those  at  the  ends 
are  frigid  with  a  terrific  cold,  and  that  of  the  remaining 
two  we  inhabit  one  and  our  antipodes  the  other. 

In  Macrobius*^  also  there  is  a  passage  which  seems 
to  indicate  that  he  held  a  similar  belief. 

"  Major,  R.  H. :  Early  Voyages  to  Terra  Aiistrah's,  now  called 
Australia,  London  *  *  *  Hakluyt  Society,  MDCCCLIX., 
page  xiii. 

"  Dionysii  Alex,  et  Pomp.  Melae  Situs  orbis  descriptio.  In 
Melam  annotationes  Joannis  Oliuarii,  Henricus  Stephanus, 
MULXXVII.:  and  Pompoiiii  3Iclae,  De  Situ  orbis  Libri  III.  : 
(Lib.  Co.  rhiladelphia). 

Pompotiius  Mela,  traduit  en  Franjais,  *  *  *  par  C.  P. 
Fradin,  Paris,  1S04:  (Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia):  Lib.  I.,  Chap.  I. 
"  lluic  medio  terra  sublimis  cingitur  undique  mari :  eodenique  in 
duo  latera,  quae  Hemisphaeria  nominantur,  ab  oriente  divisa  ad  oc- 
casuni,  zonis  quinque  distinguitur.  Mediam  aestus  infestat,  frigus 
ultimas  :  reliquae  habitabilis  paria  agunt  anni  tempora,  verum  non 
pariter.  Antichthones  alteram,  nos  alteram  incolimus.  Illius  situ 
ob  ardorem  intercedentis   plagae  incognito,  hujus  dicendus  est." 

"  Macrobius  :  Franciscus  Eysenhardt  rccognovit ;  Lipsiae, 
B.  G.  Teubneri,  MDCCCLXVIIL  :  "  Ambrosii  Theodosii  Mac- 
robii  viri  clarissimi  et  illustris  comnientariorum  in  somnium 
Scipionis"  ;  Libri  II.,  9. 

Macrobii  Ambrosii  Aurelii,  viri  consularis  &  illustris,  hi 
Somnium,  Scipionis,  Lib.  II.,  etc.,  Lugduni,  apud  Ant. 
Gryphium,  MDLXXXV.  :  (Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia).  On  page 
91  is  a  map,  which  had  been  published  already  in  earlier  editions, 
showing  an  antipodal  frigid  land. 


BELIEFS    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  1 9 

Manilius"  wrote  that  there  is  a  southern  habitable 
land,  and  that  it  lies  under  our  feet. 

Dr.  Werner"^  states  that  Baeda  Venerabilis,  who 
was  born  probably  in  672  and  died  May  26,  735, 
believed  apparently  that  the  poles  were  regions  of 
eternal  cold,  because  the  sun  never  shone  there.  In 
the  north  he  thought  there  was  an  ocean,  but  in  the 
south  a  great  land. 

Professor  Fellner'®  says  that  Rhabanus  Maurus  was 
born  in  776  or  788,  was  chosen  Abbot  of  Fulda  in 
822,  and  died  in  856  at  Mainz.  His  principal  work 
was  Dc  Univcrso.  He  mentioned  three  inhabited  parts 
of  the  world,  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  and  wrote 
further:"    "Besides  the  three   named  parts    of  the 

^^  M.  Manili  Astronomicon,  Heidelberg,  1590;  and  the  same, 
Lugduno  Batauae,  1600:  (Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia).  Liber  I.,  line 
234,  et  scq.  : 

' '  Ex  quo  colligitur  Terrarum  forma  rotunda, 
Hanc  circum  variae  gentes  hominum  atque  ferarum, 
Aeriaeque  colunt  volucres,  pars  eius  ad  Arctos 
Eminet.     Austrinis  pars  est  habitabilis  oris, 
Sub  pedibusque  iacet  nostris,  supraque  videtur 
ipsa  sibi  fallente  solo  declinia  longa, 
Et  pariter  surgente  via,  pariterque  cadente." 

"Werner,  Prof.  Dr.  Karl:  Beda  der  Ehwilrdige  und  seine 
Zeit^  Wien,  Wilhelm  Braumiiller,  1875,  page  no:  (Kon.  Oef. 
Bib.  Dresden).  Dr.  Werner  drew  his  material  from  Bede's 
works :  De  Natiira  reruvt ;  De  temporibus ;  De  temponirn 
ratio7ie  ;  De  ratione  computi. 

"Fellner,  Professor  Stefan,  Benediktiner  des  Stiftes  Schotten 
in  Wien :  Compendium  der  Naturwisscnschafteti  aji  der  Sclmle 
zu  Fulda  im  JX.  Jahrhtmdert ;  Berlin,  Theobald  Grieben,  1879. 

" Co7npendiutn,  etc.,  page  104. 


20  ANTARCTICA. 

earth,  there  lies  a  fourth  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ocean  in  the  south.  According  to  fable  it  is  inhabited 
by  the  Antipodes :  on  account  of  the  heat  of  the  sun 
it  is  unknown  to  us." 

Dr.  Werner'*  says  that  Guillaume  de  Conches,  a 
philosopher  and  cosmographer  of  the  first  half  of  the 
twelfth  centur}^  believed  that  there  were  two  conti- 
nents on  the  unknown  parts  of  the  earth.  He  thought 
that  an  ocean  belted  the  world  at  the  equator,  and 
that  one  of  these  continents  was  in  the  southern 
hemisphere. 

Professor  Schmidt'^  states  that  Albertus  Magnus 
was  perhaps  a  personal  friend  of  Dante,  and  that  in 
his  principal  work,  De  Nat.  loc.  i,  c.  7,-'*  for  various 
reasons,  Albertus  considered  that  the  western  portion 
of  the  earth  must  contain  a  great  land  reaching  from 
north  to  south.  Guessing  a  little  more,  Albertus  as- 
sumed that  the  warmth  of  the  sun  would  bring  forth 
living  organisms,  that  therefore  there  must  be  por- 
tions of  the  world  benefiting  by  these  conditions,  and 

^*  Sitziingsbcrichtc  der  Kaiserlichcn  Akadcmie  der  Wissen- 
schaftcn :  Philosophisch-Hisiorischc  Classc,'^\&\,  1873;  LXXV. 
Band,  III.  Heft,  Jahrgang  1873,  December;  pag^es  309-403: — 
Werner,  Prof.  Dr.  Karl:  "Die  Kosniolojjie  und  Naturlehre  des 
Scholastichen  Mitlelalters  mit  spezieller  Beziehung  auf  Wilhelm 
von  Conches";  page  373  :     (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

".Schmidt,  Prof.  Wilhelm  :  Ucbcr  Dante' s  Slc/hnijr  in  die  Gc- 
schichtedcr  Kosmographic :  "  Erster  Theil ;  DieSchiift  De  Aqua 
et  Terra"  ;  Graz,   K.   K.  zweiten  Gymnasium  zu  Graz,    1876. 

^Ueber  Dante' s,  etc.,  page  25. 


BELIEFS    IN    Till;    MIDDLE    AGES.  2  1 

thai  ihc  deserts  alone  stopped  intercourse  with  the 
peoples  inhabiting  these  lands. 

Dr.  Werner*'  writes  that  Roger  Bacon  held  that  the 
greatest  part  of  the  southern  hemisphere  must  be 
land. 

Dr.  Peschel^  says  that  in  early  Christian  times  there 
was  an  idea  prevalent  that  there  must  be  less  water 
than  land  on  the  earth,  as  it  would  have  been  to 
doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator  to  think  that  there 
was  not  as  much  habitable  as  uninhabitable  space. 

Some  of  the  Arab  geographers  believed  in  a 
southern  land.  LeleweF^  reconstructs  the  maps  of 
Abu  Rihan,  Birunensis,  1030.  In  the  "  Ouadrans 
Habitabilis  "  a  coast  line  stretches  from  about  Zanzi- 
bar, called  Sofala,  due  east  as  far  as  the  longitude  of 
the  coast  of  China ;  it  then  turns  south  again. 

"  Sitzungsberichte  der  Kaiserliclien  Akademie  der  Wissen- 
schaften :  Philosophisch-Historische  Classc ;  Wien,  94  Band, 
Jahrgang  1879;  Heft  I.,  II.:— Werner,  Prof.  Dr.  Karl:  "Die 
Kosmologie  und  allgemeine  Naturlehre  des  Roger  Baco,"  pages 
603,  604. 

About  the  character  and  works  of  Bacon,  see  the  address  by- 
Thomas  Balch  :  Report  on  the  Twenty  Fourth  Exhibition  *  *  * 
from  November  14.  to  December  2,  1854,  *  *  *  (Jj/  the 
Fratiklin  Institute,  *  *  *  and  the  Address  delivered  at  the 
close-  of  the  exhibition  by  Thomas  Balch,  Esq.  ;  pages  79-84  ; 
Philadelphia,  Barnard  &  Jones,  1855. 

"Peschel,  Oscar:  Geschichte  der  Erdhinde,  Miinchen,  J.  G. 
Cottaschen  Buchhandlung,  1865,  pages  327-330. 

"^  Lelewel,  Joachim :  Geographic  du  Moyen  Age :  Bruxelles, 
V'  et  J.  J.  Pillet,  1852  ;  also  Epilogue,  1857  ;  and  Atlas,  1850, 
Planche  V.  :   (K6n.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 


22  ANTARCTICA. 

There  is  a  little  map,  said  to  be  now  in  Copenhagen, 
and  which  I  have  seen  only  in  the  facsimile  of  Jomard." 
It  is  considered  to  be  of  the  tenth  century,  and  to  be 
Icelandic  in  origin.  There  are  only  four  names  on  it: 
Europe,  Asia,  Africa  and  "  Synn  Bygd."  The  latter 
term  has  been  assumed  by  some  to  mean  a  southern 
land,  but  this  necessitates  a  lively  imagination.  The 
natural  inference  would  seem  to  be  that  "  Synn  Bygd  " 
refers  to  the  Norse  discoveries  in  North  America. 
This  also  appears  to  be  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Karl 
Wilhelmi.^'  Mr.  John  OTarrell,  of  Philadelphia,  has 
suggested  a  new  explanation  of  this  map,  and  that  is 
that  it  is  Irish.  He  submitted  the  name  "Synn  Bygd" 
to  two  Irish  speaking  persons,  who  pronounced  it 
"Shin  begweed  "  and  said  it  meant  "this  place  is 
unexplored  "  or  "  this  place  is  not  known." 

There  is  an  early  map  in  the  Biblioteca  Reale 
in  Turin,  which  I  have  seen  only  in  the  facsimi- 
les published  by  Santarem,-'^  Jomard"  and  Cortam- 

"  Jomard  [Edme  Franjois]  :  Les  Momimcnts  dc  la  Gcogra- 
phie;  Sheet  XIII.,  Map  No.  3  :  (Pub.  Lib.  Boston). 

"  Wilhelnii,  Karl :  Island,  Hvitmannaland,  Gronland  und 
Vinland,  oder  der  Normanner  Leben  auf  Island  und  Gronland 
und  deren  Fahrten  nach  Amerika :  Heidelberg:,  J-  C.  B.  Mohr, 
1842  :  pages  227,  228  :  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

"  Vicomte  de  Santarem :  Alias  coviposi  de  mappemondes,  de 
porlulans,  cl  de  cartes  hydrographiques  d  historiqucs,  etc.  ; 
public  sous  les  auspices  du  gouvernoinent  Porlugais  ;  Paris,  E. 
Thunot  et  Cie,  MUCCCXLIX.     The  map  is  on  the  nth  sheet. 

"Jomard:  Les  Monuments  dc  la  Gcographie ;  Sheet  XIII., 
Map  No.  I. 


EARLY    MAPS.  23 

bert.^**  It  has  been  assigned  to  the  tenth  century,  but 
it  is  in  a  manuscript  of  the  twelfth  century.  Three 
parts  of  the  world  are  indicated,  Europe,  Asia  and 
Africa.  South  of  the  latter  is  a  broad  band  of  water, 
and  below  this  is  a  space  on  which  is  an  inscription'' 
saying  that  besides  the  three  parts  of  the  world,  there 
is  a  fourth  part  beyond  the  ocean,  which  is  unknown 
to  us  on  account  of  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  which 
our  antipodes  are  supposed  to  inhabit.  In  Paris 
also^"  there  is  a  medal  of  the  fifteenth  century,  reign  of 
Charles  VI.  of  France,  on  which  is  engraved  a  world 
chart  with  a  southern  continent  called  "  Brumae." 

The  earliest  published  maps  showing  southern 
lands,  which  I  have  seen,  are  in  some  of  the 
Ptolemies."^     In  the  1478  Ptolemy ^^  the  general  map 

^Bulletin  de  la  Sociiti  de  Giographie,  Paris,  1877,  Sixi^me 
S6rie,  Tome  XIIII.,  Annee  1877,  pages  337-363  : — Cortambert, 
E:  "Quelques  uns  des  plus  ancients  monuments  g^ographiques 
du  moyen  age  conserves  a  la  Bibliotheque  Nationale." 

"^  "  Extra  tres  autem  partes  orbis,  quarto  pars  trans  oceanum 
inferior  est,  que  solis  ardore  incognita  nobis  est,  cujus  finibus 
antipodes  fabulosore  inhabitare  produntur." 

'"Flammarion,  Camille :  Histoire  du  del,  Paris,  Hetzel  &  Cie, 
1872.  On  page  369  is  a  reproduction  of  this  medal  which  is  said 
to  be  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale. 

"  A  valuable  contribution  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Ptolemies  is  : 
Bibliographical  Contributions ,  Libraiy  of  Harvard  University^ 
No.  18,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  1884: — Winsor,  Justin:  "  A  biblio- 
graphy of  Ptolemy's  Geography." 

"  Claudii  Ptoleviei  Alexandrini  Philosophi  Costnographta, 
etc.,  Rome  1478  :  (British  Museum).  This  is  supposed  to  be  the 
first  book  with  maps  engraved  on  copper. 


24  ANTARCTICA. 

of  the  world  gives  "Indicum  Mare"  as  a  closed  sea 
with  a  "  Terra  Incognita  "  about  twenty^  degrees  south 
of  the  Equator  joining  Asia  beyond  "  Magnus  Sinus  " 
which  is  a  gulf  just  beyond  "  Aurea  Chersonesus."  In 
the  last  map  but  one,  of  the  eastern  portion  of  India 
and  "Aurea  Chersonesus,"  the  Indian  Ocean  is 
bounded  on  the  east  by  a  coast  which  descends 
southward  beyond  the  "  Magnus  sinus." 

In  the  1462  or  1482  Ptolemy^  the  maps  are  rough 
and  roughly  colored.  The  southern  land  is  given  on 
the  map  of  the  world  as  in  the  1478  Ptolemy,  but 
the  legend  "  Terra  Incognita "  is  placed  south  of 
the  sources  of  the  Nile.  In  the  map  of  the  eastern 
part  of  India  and  Siam,  there  is  again  a  coast  repre- 
sented as  the  eastern  boundary  to  the  Indian  Ocean. 

In  the  facsimile  of  the  Mount  Athos  Ptolemy,** 
which  is  supposed  to  date  from  about  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century,  plate  "  CVII."  appears  to  show  the 
beginning  of  the  coast  supposed  to  bound  the  Indian 
Ocean  on  the  east.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
other  southern  land  represented.    The  1475  Ptolemy^'' 

"  Beatissimo  fialri  Alcxajidro  quinio  poiit.  max.  ans:cliis 
D  icpora  Clattdii  Ptolanci  ui7-i  Alexandrini,  etc.  :  title  page 
missing:  on  binding  "  Ptolemaeus,  Ed.  Princeps,  1462": 
(British  Museum). 

''  Geographic  dc  PlolCmce,  reproduction  plioioUthographiquc 
du  manuscril  *  *  *  au  Mont  Athos  *  *  *  d'apri^s  les 
clich(js  *  *  *  de  M.  Pierre  de  SCwastianoff  *  *  *  par 
Victor  Langlois  ;  Paris,  Firmin  Didot,  1867:  (Harvard  Univ. 
Lijj.). 

*''  Cosmographia,  latinc  reddita  a  Jac.  Angela :  (Harvard  Univ. 
\aU.). 


AMERIGO   VESPUCCI.  25 

has  no  maps.    Martin  Behaini's  famous  globe  of  1492 
shows  no  antarctic  land.^" 

At  last  we  come  to  a  positive  discovery,  and  one 
which  must  be  looked  on  probably  as  the  first  dis- 
covery of  land  in  the  Antarctic.  Amerigo  Vespucci, 
in  his  letter  to  Pier  Soderini,  Gonfalonier  of  the  Re- 
public of  Florence,  narrates  in  his  third  voyage  that, 
after  leaving  the  coast  of  South  America  either  in 
32°  or  40°  south  latitude,  his  ship  reached  52°  south 
latitude  in  April  1502  and  that  they  sighted  a  new 
and  rough  coast  along  which  they  sailed  for  twenty 
leagues.  His  account  is  as  follows  :^^  "Having 
taken  in  our  stores  from  this  land,  we  began  our 
voyage  towards  the   southeast :   and   it  was  on   the 

'*  The  "  Verwalter  "  of  the  Behaim  estate  told  me  that  this 
globe  is  in  Baron  Behaim's  liouse,  Niirnberg,  and  that  two  hun- 
dred thousand  marks  had  been  offered  for  it.  For  Behaim's 
life,  see  Dr.  F.  W.  Ghillany's  excellent  book:  Geschichte  dcs 
Sec/ahrer'  s  Ritter  Marliti  Behaim,  Niirnberg,  Bauer  und  Raspe, 
1853:  (Grossherz.    Hof  Bib.  Darmstadt;  Lib.  Co.,  Philadelphia). 

"(First  page)  Lettera  di  Amerigo  Vespucci  delle  isole  nuoua- 
mente  trojiate  in  quattro  suoi  viaggi :  (Last  page)  Data  in 
Lisbona  adi  4  di  Septembre  1504,  Seruitore  Amerigo  Vespucci 
in  Lisbo7ia.  This  book  was  published  probably  in  Florence  in 
1505 ;  it  is  in  the  British  Museum,  and  a  note  in  it  says:  "  This  is 
supposed  to  be  the  first  Italian  edition  of  the  four  voyages."  I 
copied  the  account  from  the  ' '  Terza  Viaggio ' '  as  accurately  as  I 
could  thus  :  ' '  Facto  nostro  pue  dimento  di  qsta  terra  |  com- 
inciamo  nostra  nauicatione  p  eluen  to  sciloccho  :  &  fu  adi  i  5  di 
Febraio  |  quando  gia  elsole  sandaua  cercando  alio  equinoctio  |  & 
tomaua  uerso  qsto  nostro  emisperio  del  settentrione  &  tanto  nau- 
igammo,  per  qsto  uento  |  che  ci  trouamo  tanto  alti  |  chel  polo 


26  ANTARCTICA. 

15th  of  February  when  the  sun  was  already  nearing 
the  equinox,  and  turning  towards  this  our  northern 
hemisphere  :  and  so  long  did  we  sail  by  that  wind, 
that  we  found  ourselves   so  high  that  the   southern 

del  meridione  cistaua  alto  fuora  del  nostro  orizonte  ben  52  gradi  | 
&  piu  no  uedauamo  le  stelle  ne  dell  orsa  minore  |  ne  della  mag- 
giore  orsa  :  &  di  gia  stauamo  discosto  del  porro  di  done  partimo 
ben  500  leghe  p  sciloccho  :  &  questo  fu  adi  3  daprile :  &  i  qsto 
giorno  comincio  una  tormenta  in  mare  tato  forzosa  |  die  cifece 
amainare  del  tucto  nostre  uele  :  &  corrauamo  allarbero  seco  con 
molto  uento  |  che  ere  libeccio  c6  grandissimi  mari  ]  &  laria  molto 
tormentosa  :  e  tanta  era  la  tormtta  |  che  tutta  la  flocta  staua 
con  gran  timore  :  le  nocte  eron  molto  grand! :  che  nocte  tenemo 
adi  septe  daprile  |  che  fu  di  15  hore  :  pche  elsole  staua  nel  fine 
di  Aries  :  et  in  qsta  regione  ere  lo  inuerno  |  come  ben  puo  cosid- 
erare  V.  M.  et  andando  i  qSta  tormenta  adi  septe  daprile  hauemo 
uista  di  nuoua  terra :  della  quale  corremo  circha  di  20  leghe  | 
&  la  trouamo  tucta  costa  braua  :  et  n6  uedemo  i  epsa  porta 
alcuno  I  ne  gente  :  credo  pche  era  tato  el  freddo  |  che  nessuno 
della  flocta  so  poteua  rimediare  |  ne  sopportarlo :  di  modo  ch' 
uistoci  in  tanto  pericolo  &  i  tanta  tormeta  |  che  apena  potauamo 
hauere  uista  luna  naue  dell  altra  |  p  cgran  mari  ch'  faccuano  | 
&  p  la  gran  serrazon  del  tepo  che  accordamo  con  el  capitano 
maggiore  fare  segnale  alia  flocta  che  arriuassi  |  &  la  sciassimo 
la  terra  :  et  cene  tornassimo  al  camino  di  Portogallo  :"  etc. 

This  passage  was  republished  in  Ramusio,  Gio.  Baltista : 
Dc/le  Navigationi  et  Viaggi,  Venetia,  Stamperia  de  Giunti, 
MDLXIII.,  Vol.  I,  page  126  [128]:  "  Di  Amerigo  Vespucci 
Fiorcntino  Lettera  prima  drizzata  al  Magnifico  M.  Pietro  Sod- 
erini  Gonfaloniere  perpetuo  della  Magnifica  &  excelsa  Signoria 
di  Firenze":  (Kib.  Royalc,  Bruxellcs).  I  have  not  seen  the 
earlier  editions  of  Ramusio. 

In  the  translation  of  this  passage,  I  have  availed  myself,  making 
a  few  changes,  of  the  translation  of  Mr.  Quaritch  :  T/ic  First  Four 
Voyages  of  Amerigo  Vespucci,  London,  Jiomaril  yuaritch, 
1893:  pages  38,  39:   (Lib.  Co.,  Piiiladelphia). 


AMERIGO   VESPUCCI.  27 

pole  Stood  quite  52  degrees  above  our  horizon,  and 
we  no  longer  beheld  the  stars  either  of  Ursa  Minor 
or  Ursa  Major ;  and  we  were  already  at  a  distance  of 
full  500  leagues  southeast  from  the  harbor  whence 
we  had  set  out :  and  this  was  on  the  3d  of  April :  and 
on  that  day  there  arose  a  tempest  of  such  violence 
on  the  sea  that  we  were  compelled  to  haul  down  all 
our  sails,  and  we  scudded  under  bare  poles  before 
the  great  wind,  which  was  southwest  with  enormous 
waves  and  a  very  stormy  sky  :  and  so  fierce  was  the 
tempest  that  all  the  fleet  was  in  great  dread  :  the 
nights  were  very  long :  so  that  on  the  seventh  of 
April  we  had  a  night  which  was  1 5  hours  long  :  for 
the  sun  was  at  the  end  of  Aries  :  and  in  that  region 
it  was  winter,  as  your  Magnificence  may  well  con- 
sider :  and  while  in  this  tempest  on  the  seventh  of 
April,  we  had  sight  of  a  new  land  :  along  which  we 
ran  for  about  20  leagues,  and  found  that  it  was 
wholly  a  rough  coast :  and  we  beheld  therein  neither 
any  harbor  nor  any  people,  because,  as  I  believe,  of 
the  cold  which  was  so  intense  that  no  one  in  our  fleet 
could  fortify  himself  against  it  nor  endure  it :  inso- 
much that,  finding  ourselves  in  so  great  a  danger  and 
in  such  a  tempest  that  one  ship  could  hardly  see 
another  for  the  great  billows  that  were  running  and 
for  the  deep  gloominess  of  the  weather,  we  agreed 
with  the  chief  captain  to  signal  to  the  fleet  to 
approach  and  that  we  should  abandon  this  land  :  and 
turn  around  on  the  road  to  Portugal,"  etc. 


2  8  ANTARCTICA. 

In  Vespucci's  account  of  his  voyages,  which  he  ad- 
dressed to  Lorenzo  di  Medici,  and  which  was  pub- 
hshed  both  in  Latin  and  German,**  Vespucci  speaks 
of  having  reached  the  fifty-second  degree  of  south 
latitude,  but  he  does  not  mention  seeing  a  new  coast. 
But  his  letter  to  Soderini  is  conclusive. 

This  discovery  does  not  appear,  however,  to  have 
attracted  much  attention  at  the  time.  The  first  notice 
of  it  appears  to  be  one  in  Ruysch's  Ptolemy  of  1 508,^* 

'^  I  have  seen  three  copies  of  this  narrative  of  Vespucci : 

1.  (First  leaf)  Vo7i  der  Neu  ge/unndS  Region  die  ~wol  cin 
Welt  gencnnt   mag    7vcrdc?i  :    Durch  den    Christlichcn    Kiinig 

von  Portiigall  wunderbarlic/i  erfunden :  Albcriais  Vcspuclius 
Laurentii  Petri  Francisci  Medicis  7nl  gruess  :  (Last  page) 
Gedruckt  iyi  Niircmbog  durch  Wolffgang  Heubcr  [1505]: 
(Kon.  Oef  Bib.  Dresden). 

2.  (First  leaf)  Vo)i  der  neu  gefunden  Region  die  zuol  ein 
Welt  gene^it  mag  tvcrden   durch  den    Christlichcn    Kiinig  von 

portigal  wunderbarlich  erfunden :  Albericus  Vcspuclius  Laur- 
e7itio  Petri  Francisci  de  Medici  vil  griiss :  [1505]:  (Kon.  Oef. 
Bib.  Dresden). 

3.  Title  page  wanting.  (First  page)  Quatuor  Americi  Vesputii 
Navigationes :  (Last  page)  Urbs  Deodate  Finitu  iin  KL : 
Scptcbris  Anno  supra  ses  qtiimillcsiviu  vij :  (Kijn.  Oef  Bib. 
Dresden).  This  copy  was  published  by  Martin  Waldseenuillcr 
or  Hylacomylus. 

About  original  editions  of  the  writings  of  Amerigo  Vesjiutius,  see 
the  admirable  bibliograjjhy  by  Henry  Harrisse  :  Bibliotcca  Ameri- 
cana  Veittstissima,   New  York,  Geo.  P.  Philes,  MDCCCLXVL 

''■"  Ruysch  :  Claudii  Plolcmaei  Geographic,  etc.,  Rome 
MDVin.  :  (Kon.  Oef  Bib.  Dresden).  One  map  in  this  shows 
Africa  extending  eastward,  south  of  Mons  Lunae,  and  joining 
Asia  beyond  "  Aurca  Chcrsonesus  "  :  this  land  is  marked  "  Terra 
Incognita."     The  next  map  shows  no  such  land,  but  Africa  with 


AMERIGO   VESPUCCI,  29 

where  there  is  an  inscription  on  one  of  the  maps 
which  would  seem  to  refer  to  the  voyage  of  Vespucci. 
There  is  also  a  short  passage  in  a  Spanish  work  of 
1 5  ig'"  which  speaks  of  an  austral  land  in  52°  south  lati- 
tude. The  first  direct  reference  I  have  seen  of  Ves- 
pucci's discover)'  is  on  a  chart  published  by  Monsieur 
Buache  in  1757."  He  charts  a  land  in  about  the 
position  of  South  Georgia,  with  the  legend  "  Terre 
vue  par  Americ  Vespuce." 

Several  geographers  in  the  nineteenth  century  ex- 
amined into  this  matter.     Captain  Duperrey^^  wrote 

the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the  "Terra  Sancte  Crucis,  sive 
Mundus  Novus"  extending  indefinitely  towards  the  south  :  under 
this  is  a  legend  :  "  Naute  Lusitani  partem  hanc  terre  huuis 
observariit  et  usque  ad  elevationem  poll  antartici  (sic)  50  gradum 
pervenerunt  nondu  tamen  ad  eius  finem  austrinCl." 

*°Enciso,  Martin  Fernandez  de :  Suma  dc  Geograpkia,  Seville, 
1519:  (British  Museum). 

*^  Histoire  de  F Academie  Royale  dcs  Sciences,  avec  les  Mem- 
oires,  etc.,  Ann^e  MDCCLVII. :  A  Paris,  de  I'lmprimerie  Royale, 
M.DCCLXII.  :  Mbnoires,  pages  190-203  : — M.  Buache:  "Ob- 
servations g^ographiques  et  physiques,  ou  Ton  donne  une  idee 
de  r existence  de  Terres  Antarctiques,"  etc.,  with  two  charts  : 
(Bib.  Nat.  Paris).  In  addition  to  Vespucci's  landfall.  Monsieur 
Buache  marks  the  Cap  de  la  Circoncision,  and  also  in  about  the 
same  latitude,  the  place  where  he  thinks  Gonneville  landed  and 
lived  on  a  fertile  inhabited  land.  He  also  charts  a  large  island 
"  Islande"  in  about  the  position  of  the  South  Shetlands,  but 
without  mentioning  whom  he  thinks  discovered  this  place. 

"  Duperrey,  Capitaine  L.  I.  : —  Voyage  autotir  du  Afonde 
*  *  *  sur  la  corvette  de  Sa  Majestc  La  Coqnille,  etc.,  Paris, 
Arthus  Bertrand,  1829,  "  Hydrographie,"  page  loi  :  (Acad. 
Nat.  Sci.  Philadelphia). 


30  ANTARCTICA. 

that  the  land  seen  by  Vespucci  must  be  the  one 
seen  by  de  "la  Roche"  in  1675,  by  Duclos  Guyot  in 
1756,  and  called  South  Georgia  by  Cook.  Alexander 
von  Humboldt,'*^  on  the  contrary,  thought  that  Ves- 
pucci must  have  been  driven  back  by  a  storm  and 
seen  part  of  the  coast  of  Patagonia.  Humboldt 
knew  and  quoted  Duperrey's  remarks,  and,  on 
account  of  Humboldt's  great  accuracy,  his  opinion 
that  Vespucci  did  not  reach  South  Georgia  carries 
much  weight.  Finally  M.  de  Varnhagen"*^  studied 
the  matter  and  basing  his  argument  on  the  course 
held,  the  distance  run  and  the  length  of  coast 
sighted,  he  showed  that  most  likely  the  land  seen 
by  Vespucci  was  South  Georgia.  Dr.  Fricker'^  fol- 
lowed suit,  and  the  writer  also  subscribes  to  the 
opinion  that  Vespucci's  antarctic,  or  semi  antarctic 
landfall,  was  probably  South  Georgia.^" 

For  a  hundred  years  after  Vespucci,  there  do  not 
appear  to  be  any  antarctic  discoveries  to  chronicle. 
The  knowledge  or  beliefs  respecting  the  south  polar 

"  Examcn  Critiqiic  dc  V Historic  dc  la  Geographic  du  Nouvcau 
Continent,  Paris,  Gide,  1839,  Tome  V,  pages  23,  115,  116. 

"  \'arn!iagen,  F.  A.  de :  Amerigo  Vespucci,  son  Caracttrc,  ses 
/Merits,  etc.,  Lima,  1865,  page  11 1  :   (Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia). 

"  T/ic  Antarctic  Regions. 

"A  writer  in  T/te  Scottish  Geographical  Magazine,  Edin- 
burgh, 1898,  Vol.  XIV.,  page  388,  in  a  review  of  Dr.  Frickcr's 
Antarktis,  says:  "The  discovery  of  the  South  Shctlands  by 
Dirk  Gcrrits/,  and  of  South  Georgia  by  Amerigo  Vespucci, 
will  not  be  generally  accepted." 


EARLY    MAPS.  3 1 

regions,  however,  may  be  traced  to  a  certain  extent 
from  the  maps  and  charts  which  have  come  down  to 
us.  Among  these,  the  globes  of  Johannes  Schoner  or 
Schoner,'"  a  German  geographer  of  the  first  half  of 

"  Globe  of  15 15  (examples  are  said  to  be  in  Weimar  and  Frank- 
furt A.  M.),  reproduced  by  Jomard,  XVII.,  and  by  Wieser.  A 
south  land  is  shown  with  tlie  name  "  Brasilie  Regio."  In 
connection  with  this,  Schoner  published :  Luculcntissitna  quaedA 
terra  totius  descriptio,  etc.,  Noribergee,  Joannis  Stuchsen,  15 15: 
(British  Museum).  On  fol.  61  is  a  sentence,  "Brasilia;  regio. 
A  capite  bonce  Spei  (quod  Itali  Capo  de  bona  Speranza  vocitant) 
parum  distat.  CircOnauigarunt  ita°,3  Portugalien,  eam  regionum  : " 
which  raises  a  doubt  whether  some  one  had  not  sailed  through  the 
Strait  of  Magalhaes  before  1515. 

Globe  of  1520:  (Germanisches  Museum,  Nuremberg).  This  is 
a  splendid  piece  of  early  cartography.  The  south  land  is  shown 
and  is  called  "  Brasilia  Inferior."  It  is  separated  from  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  only  by  a  wide  strait,  through  which  a  ship  is 
sailing. 

Globe  of  1523.  In  connection  with  this,  Schoner  published: 
DeNiipcr  stcb  Castilice  ac  PorhigalicB  Regibus  Screnissiviis  reper- 
lis  Insiilis  ac  Regionibus,  Joarmis  Schoner  Charolipolitani epislola 
Globus  Geographia(s,^X.z.,  "  Vale  Timiripa;,  Anno  Incarnationis 
dominicte  Millesimo  quingentesimo  uigesimotertis  "  :  (British  Mu- 
seum). In  another  binding  (British  Museum,  No.  C.  32,  m.  11) 
are  two  charts  in  gores.  An  autograph  letter  bound  with  them 
says  they  are  Schijner's  globe  of  1523,  and  that  they  are  pre- 
sented to  the  British  Museum  by  Ludwig  Rosenthal,  Antiquariat, 
Miinchen,  1885.  In  the  middle  of  each  chart  is  written  "  R6im- 
pression  moderne,"  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  this  statement  is 
correct.  There  is,  however,  an  undoubted  original  of  this  map 
in  the  Lenox  Library  in  New  York  City.  One  of  the  parts  shows 
a  fair  representation  of  America  with  the  Strait  of  Magalhaes 
marked  "Sing  S.  Juliani."  The  south  land  is  given  as  lumps  of 
islands.  In  the  other  part  also  there  is  some  land  far  south  of 
Africa  and  Asia.  The  route  of  Magalhaes  is  marked.  This 
map  is  reproduced  in   Henry  Stevens'    (of  Vermont)  :  Johatin 


32  ANTARCTICA. 

the  sixteenth  century,  deserve  more  than  a  passing 
notice,  because  several  writers  have  stated  that  he  was 
responsible  for  starting  the  idea  of  the  Terra  Aus- 

Schoner,  professor  of  Mathematics  at  Nuremberg  :  A  Reproduc- 
tioti  of  his  globe  of  152 j,  long  lost:  London,  Henry  Stevens, 
MDCCCLXXXVIII.  A.  E.  Nordenskjold  {Facsimile  Atlas, 
page  80  b.)  also  reproduces  these  gores,  but  doubts  their  being 
by  Schoner.  It  seems  to  me  impossible  to  say  at  present  whether 
these  gores  are  Schoner' s  globe  of  1523  or  not. 

Globe  of  1533:  (Said  to  be  in  the  Weimar  Library:  repro- 
duced in  Wieser's  Magalhaes  Strasse).  The  south  land  is 
called  Terra  Australis. 

The  work  of  Schoner  has  been  thoroughly  examined  in  Dr. 
Franz  Wieser's  excellent  book  :  Magalhaes  Strasse,  etc.  Wieser 
thinks  that  the  globe  of  1 5 1 5  was  largely  based  on  the  Copia  dcr 
Newen  Zeytung  aus  Presillg  Land  (Kon.Oef.  Bib.  Dresden, 
bound  up  with  Bcschichtc  Kiirtslich  durch  die  von  Portiigalicn  i?i 
India,  Morenland,  7ind  ander^i  erdlricli),  which  little  tract,  the  first 
one  known  to  bear  the  name  Zeytung,  Wieser  reprints  correctly. 
F.  A.  deVarnhagen  {Nouvelles  Rechcrches  sur  les  dertiiers  voyages 
du  navigatcur  Florcntiii,  etc.,  Wien,  1869  :  Kon.  Oef  Bib.  Dres- 
den) thinks  the  Copia  refers  to  the  ships  of  Gonjalo  Coelho, 
which  were  separated  from  the  ship  on  which  was  Vespucius,  and 
that  the  Copia  was  published  in  1507.  Dr.  Sopluis  Ruge  {fahtes- 
bericht  des  VereinsfUr  Erdkunde  zu  Dresden,  \.  Band,  IV.  and 
V.  Heft,  Dresden,  1S68,  pages  13-27)  first  thought  the  Copia 
apocryphal,  but  later  says  {Deutsche  Geographischc  Blatter,  1895, 
Band  XVIII.,  pages  147-171)  that  Dr.  Konrad  Habler  has  dis- 
covered in  the  "  Fuggerschen  Archiv  "  about  the  voyage  described 
in  the  Copia,  which  was  printed  in  1514.  Wieser  thinks  that  the 
strait  in  Schoner' s  15 15  globe  was  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  la 
Plata  or  more  likely  the  gulf  of  Saint  Mathias  (See  A.  Peter- 
mann's  chart,  Mitthcihingen,  Krglmzungshcft ,  39,  Gotha,  1875, 
"  Mapa  Original  de  la  Republica  Argentina")  and  this  may 
well  be  the  case,  judging  from  the  remarks  of  the  Chevr. 
Pigafctta,  {Premier  Voyage  auloiir  dn  monde  *  *  *  sur 
I'cscadre  de  Magellan,    Paris,   H.  J.  Jansen,  I'an  IX,  page  23) 


EARLY   MAPS.  33 

tralis.^  This,  however,  is  certainly  not  the  case. 
Noteworthy  as  his  maps  are,  especially  about  the 
shape  of  South  America  and  the  marking  of  a  strait 
at  the  southern  end  before  Magalhaes'  voyage,  yet 
they  furnish  no  clue  that  Schoner  thought  anything 
about  Vespucci's  discovery  of,  probably,  South 
Georgia ;  nor  that  his  southern  continent  was  drawn 
from  anything  but  the  traditions  of  the  past. 

The  earliest  map  known  to  give  the  name  of  Terra 
Australis  appears  to  be  the  one  made  by  Orontius 
Finaeus  in  1531,'"' which  charts  "Terra  Australis  re- 
center  inventa,  sed  nondu  plene  cognlta." 

From  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  until 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  maps  and 

who  says  of  the  river  in  34°  40'  south  latitude  (the  Rio  de  la 
Plata):  "  It  was  believed  formedy  that  this  water  was  not  a  river, 
but  a  canal,  through  which  one  passed  into  the  South  Sea  ;  but 
it  was  soon  found  that  it  was  only  a  river,  which  is  seventeen 
leagues  wide  at  the  mouth." 

*'Dr.  Oscar  Peschel :  Geschichte  dcr  Erdkjinde,  Miinchen, 
1865,  page  327.     Dr.  Fricker:   The  Ajitarclic  Regions,  page  16. 

*'  Published  in  Simon  Grynaeus  :  Novus  Orbis  Regio7ium  ac 
Insidarum,  etc.,  Paris,  1532  :  (Two  copies  in  Lenox  Lib.  New 
York  City).  The  map  is  entitled  "  Nova  et  integra  universi  orbis 
descriptio  "  by  "  Orontius  F.  Delph :  1531,  Mense  Julio."  On  the 
"Terra  Australis"  south  of  Asia  is  "  Brasilie  Regio"  and  in 
about  the  position  of  Australia  is  "  Regio  Patalis."  This  map  is 
reproduced  in  John  Boyd  Thacher's  The  Continent  of  America, 
New  York,  W.  E.  Benjamin,  1896  :  (Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia):  and  in 
A.  E.  Nordenskjold's  Facsimile  Atlas,  Stockholm,  MDCCCL- 
XXXIX,  Plate  XLI. 


34  ANTARCTICA. 

globes^" — in  accordance  almost  surely  with  how  nearly 
the  cartographer  drew  from  the  reported  facts  or  de- 
pended on  the  authority  of  the  past — sometimes  do 

^Juan  de  la  Cosa,  companion  of  Columbus  :  World  Chart, 
end  of  XV.  century  ;  (Reproduced  in  Jomard,  Plate  XVI.).  No 
southern  land. 

^'Hicnt-Lenox  globe"  (Lenox  Lib.  New  York  City).  This 
shows  no  trace  of  a  southern  land. 

Bernardus  Sylvanus  :  Claudii  Ptolcmaei  Alexandrini  Liber 
Gcographiae,  etc.,  Venetiis,  J.  Pentium,  MDXI.  :  (Har\'ard 
Univ.  Lib.;  Pub.  Lib.  Boston).  Rough  maps,  none  of  which 
shows  a  southern  land. 

Angelo :  Claudii  Ptolemci,  viri  Alexandrini,  Gcographie,  etc., 
[Strasburg]  MDXIIL  :  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden).  Colored 
maps  :  the  ' '  Orbis  Typus  Universalis ' '  has  no  trace  of  a  south- 
ern continent. 

Joannis  Grieninger :  Claudii  Ptokfnaei  *  *  *  opus  Geo- 
graphia,  etc.,  1522  [Strasburg]:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The 
"Orbis  Typus  universalis"  marks  the  name  "America":  there 
is  no  southern  land. 

Bilibaldi  Pirckheymer,  translator :  Claudii  Ptolemaei  Geo- 
graphicae,  etc.,  .Strasburg,  MDXXV.  :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.;  Pub. 
Lib.  Boston).  In  the  "  Uicfert  situs  orbis  Ilydrographorum  "  no 
southern  land  is  charted. 

Anonymous  chart  1527:  (Grossherz.  Bib.  Weimar).  Diego 
Ribero's  chart,  1529:  (Grossherz.  Bib.  Weimar).  Both  these 
charts  mark  the  Strait  of  MagalhaC's,  but  neither  shows  the 
southern  boundary  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  nor  any  antarctic  land  : 
they  are  rejjroduced  in  J.  G.  Kolil's  Die  bciden  Ulteslen  General 
Karlcn  von  Amcrika  ausgcfiihrl  in  den  faltren  i^2j  und  i^zg 
auf  befehl  Kaiser  KarV s  V.,  Weimar,  Geographisches  Institut, 
i860:  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

Simon  Grynaeus :  Novus  orbis  Regionum  etc.,  Basilaae, 
MDXXXII. :  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden;  Harvard  Univ.  Lib.). 
There  is  no  southern  land  on  the  world  chart. 

Simon  Grynaeus  :  Novus  orbis  Regionum,  etc.,  Paris, 
MDXXXII.:  (I'ub.  Lib.  Boston).  This  copy  has  the  Basel  map 
of  1532. 


EARLY    MAI'S.  35 

and  sometimes  do  not  show  the  great  "  Terra  Aus- 
traHs."  On  most  of  the  earHest  maps,  until  about  the 
time  of  Schoner,  a  southern  land  is  outlined ;  then  for 

Sen-etus  :  Claudii  Plolemaci  Akxandrini  geographicae  enar- 
ra/tonts  /i6n'  odo,  clc,  Lugduni  *  *  *  Trechsel,  MDXXXV. : 
(Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The  "Tabula  Totius  Orbis"  shows  no 
southern  land. 

Gerard  Mercator  :  A  world  chart  dated  1538,  which  was  found 
in  one  of  the  above  mentioned  copies  of  the  Paris  Grynacus  of 
1532  in  the  Leno.x  Library,  New  York  City.  This  map  gives 
much  the  same  outline  to  the  southland  as  the  map  of  Finaeu.s, 
but  without  tlie  name :  it  is  reproduced  in  John  Boyd  Thacher's 
The  Contiyicnt  of  America,  New  York,  W.  E.  Benjamin,  1896. 

Servetus  :  Claudii Ptolemaei,  etc.,  Trechsel,  Viennae  [Dauphine] 
MDXLL:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.;  Stadt  Bib.  Frankfurt  A.  M.). 
No  maps  with  southern  lands. 

Gerard  Mercator:  Sphere  terrestre,  published  at  Louvain  1541. 
(Republished  Bru.xelles,  1875:  Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  This  gives 
the  outline  of  Terra  Australis,  but  without  any  name. 

Alonzo  de  Santa  Cruz's  Chart  of  the  world,  1542.  (Repro- 
duced in  Stockholm,  1892  :  Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  Shows  Strait 
of  Magalhaes  and  north  shore  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  but  no  ant- 
arctic land. 

World  chart  painted  on  parchment  by  order  of  Henri  IL, 
King  of  France,  1542.  (Reproduced  in  Jomard,  Plate  XIX.). 
Shows  Tierra  del  Fuego  stretching  south  as  a  continent  extending 
round  the  pole :  legend  "  La  Terre  Australie,  non  du  tout  descou- 
verte." 

Sebastian  Miinster :  Geographia  Universalis  *  *  *  Claudii 
Ptolemaei,  etc..  Bale,  MDXLH.:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  Highly 
colored  rough  maps :  no  southern  land  e.xcept  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
which  is  charted  but  unnamed  in  the  "  Typus  Universalis"  and 
the  "  Novae  Insulae  XVO  Nova  Tabula." 

Sebastian  Cabot's  Chart  of  the  world  of  1544:  (Jomard,  Plate 
XX.).     No  antarctic  land. 

Sebastian  Miinster:  Geographia  Universalis  *  *  *  Claudii 
Ptolanaei,  etc..  Bale,  MDXLV.:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  No  south- 
ern land    except    Tierra    del    Fuego,  which  is  charted  but  un- 


36  ANTARCTICA. 

about  fifty  years  there  is  a  noticeable  falling  off  in  the 
numbers  of  maps  giving  it;  while,  at  the  end  of  the  six- 
named  in  the  "  Typus  Universalis "  and  in  the  "Novae  Insulae 
XXVI  Nova  Tabula." 

Gcographia  universalis  *  *  *  Claudii  Ptotemaci  *  *  * 
Basileae,  per  Henrichum  Petri,  MDXLVII.  :  (Lib.  Co.  Phila- 
delphia). The  "Typus  orbis"  shows  the  southern  continent 
extending,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  ancients,  from  southeast 
Africa  around  the  Indian  Ocean  to  Asia. 

Jacopo  Gastaldo :  La  Geoirrafia  di  Claudia  Ptolcmco,  etc., 
Venetia,  G.  B.  Pedrazano,  MDXLVIII. :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.). 
The  maps  ' '  Dell  universale  nove ' '  and  ' '  Carta  Marina  nova 
tabula"  show  no  south  polar  continent;  they  mark  an  enlarged 
Tierra  del  Fuego,  the  last  of  these  two  maps  showing  it  as  a  big 
island. 

Demongenet,  Franciscus :  Gores  of  a  world  chart,  1552: 
(Leno.x  Lib.  New  York  City).  This  shows  the  "Terra  Australis 
nondQ  plen6  cognita  "  extending  across  the  entire  globe. 

Simon  Grynaeus :  Nozms  orbis  Rcgionum  ac  insitlaruin,  etc., 
Basilaae,  MDLV.:  (Stadt  Bib.  Frankfurt  A.  M.).  In  the  good  map 
"Typus  Cosmographicus  Universalis,"  the  Antarctic  is  repre- 
sented entirely  as  water. 

Girolamo  Ruscclli :  La  Gcografia  di  Claudio  Toloinco,  etc., 
Venetia,  MDLXI. :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The  "Carta  Marina 
Nuova  Tabula ' '  .shows  Tierra  del  Fuego  as  a  big  island  :  no  south 
polar  continent. 

Joseph  Moletius :  Geographia  CI.  Ptolcmaci,  etc.,  Venetia, 
MDLXII. :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The  "Orbis  Descriptio" 
shows  no  south  polar  continent:  the  "Carta  Marina  Nuova 
Tabula"  shows  Tierra  del  Fuego  as  a  big  island. 

Jeronomo  Ruscelli  :  La  Geografia  di  Claudio  Tolomco,  etc., 
Venetia,  MDLXIIII. :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The  "Carta  Ma- 
rina Nuova  Tabula"  shows  Tierra  del  Fuego  as  a  big  island. 

Johannes  Praetorius :  copper  globe,  Nuremberg,  1566:  (Ger- 
manisches  Museum,  Nuremberg).  Southland  marked  as  "  Bra- 
siliae  Regio." 

Gerard  Mercator :  "  Mappeniondc,"  Duisbourg,  1569:  rei)ro- 
duced  in  Joniard,  Plate  XXI.     Indicates  southern  continent,  anil 


EARLY    MAI'S.  37 

teenth  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  Terra  Australis  once  more  reappears,  to  die 

at  one  spot  has  a  legend,  about  land  in  42°  south  latitude,  450 
leagues  from  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  600  from  Cape  Saint 
Augustine,  which  says  that  the  information  is  taken  from  Martin 
Fernandez  de  Enciso's  Suma  de  Geographia,  Seville  15 19. 

Gio.  Malombra  :  La  Geographia  di  C/audii  Tolomeo,  etc., 
Venetia,  G.  Ziletti,  MDLXXIIII.  :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The 
' '  Carta  Marina  Nuova  Tavola' '  shows  Tierra  del  Fuego  as  a  big 
island. 

Gerard  Mercator  :  Tabtdae  Geographicae  Claudii  Ptolemaei, 
etc.,  MDLXXVin. :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  Colored  maps ;  none 
showing  a  south  polar  land. 

Abraham  Ortelius  Antvcrjiianus  :  Thcatrum  Orbis  Terrarum; 
(1579)  :  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden).  In  the  "  Typus  Orbis  Ter- 
rarum" the  "  Terra  Australis  nondum  cognita"  stretches  across 
the  entire  southern  regions  :  it  includes  Tierra  del  Fuego  and 
extends  up  to  New  Guinea  and  Java.  In  the  "  Americae  sive  novi 
orbis"  the  shape  of  South  America  is  less  accurate  than  in 
Schoner's  maps  and  New  Guinea  is  included  in  die  southern  con- 
tinent. 

Cornelius  Wytfliet  Louaniensis  :  Descriptioiiis  Ptolemaicac 
Augfne7ilum,  etc.,  Louvain,  J.  Bogardus,  MDXCVH. :  (Harvard 
Univ.  Lib.).  The  "  Utriusque  Hemispherii  Deliniatio"  shows 
' '  Terra  Australis' '  in  both  hemispheres  :  ' '  Golfo  di  San  Sebas- 
tiano  "  charted  but  unnamed. 

Abraam  Ortelius  :  II  Thealro  del  Mo7idi,  Brescia,  MDXCVIII.: 
(Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The  "Typus  orbis  Terrarum"  shows  the 
great  "Terra  Australis  nondum  cognita." 

W.  Jansenius  Blaew :  Globe,  1599:  (Germanisches  Museum, 
Nuremberg).     A  southern  continent  is  delineated. 

Pietro  Montanus :  Claudii  Ptolemaei  Alexandrini  Geograpkiae, 
etc.,  Fricofurti,  1605:  (Stadt  Bib.,  Frankfurt  A.  M.).  None  of 
the  maps  shows  a  south  polar  continent. 

Gerard  Hesselius :  Descriptio  ac  delineatio  Geographica  Detec- 
tionis  Freii,  Amsterdam  1613:  (Bib.  Johannis  Thysii,  Leyden). 
Southern  continent  inscribed  ' '  Terra  per  Petrum  Fernandez  de 
Quir  recens  detecta,"  etc. 


^49318 


38  ANTARCTICA. 

away  slowly  in   the    eighteenth    centur)-.      It  would 
almost  seem  as  though  the  recrudescence  of  charts 

John  Norton  :  A>i  Epitome  of  Ortelius,  London,  [1616]  :  (Har- 
vard Univ.  Lib.).  The  "  Typus  Orbis  Terrarum"  shows  the 
great  "  Terra  Australis  nondum  cognita,"  and  "  The  Terrestrial 
Globe"  shows  the  "Terra  Australis  Incognita." 

Peter  Bertius :  Theatri  Geographiae  veteris  *  *  *  C/. 
Plol.  Alexandrhii,  etc.,  Lyons,  1618:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  No 
map  showing  south  polar  lands. 

Purchas,  Samuel  :  Hakhiytus  Posfkimius,  etc.,  London,  1625: 
(Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden).  In  the  Third  part,  page  882,  is  a  map 
"America  Meridionalis  "  taken  from  Hondius,  which  shows  Tierra 
del  Fuego  as  part  of  "  Terra  Australis." 

Francis  Fletcher  :  The  ivorld  encompassed  by  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  London  1628:  (BriUsh  Museum).  The  map  has  "The 
Southerne  unknowne  Land"  and  "  This  south  part  of  the  world 
(containing  almost  the  third  part  of  the  Globe)  is  yet  unknowne 
certayne  few  coasts  excepted :  which  rather  shew  there  is  a  land 
than  discry  eyther  land,  people  or  commodities." 

Blaeu,  Wilhelm  andjohann:  Tonneel  der  Aerdrich  oste  Nieuwe 
Atlas,  Amsterdam  [About  1635]:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The 
"Nova  totius  Terrarum"  shows  the  great  "Terra  Australis  In- 
cognita." 

de  Wit,  Frederick:  Atlas,  Amsterdam  [About  1666]:  (Har- 
vard Univ.  Lib.).  The  "Nova  Orbis  Tabula"  has  no  southern 
land  :  inscribed  at  bottom  "Australia  Incognita." 

du  Val,  P.,  geographe  ordinaire  du  Roy:  Cartes  de  Geogra- 
phic, Paris,  MD.C.LXXVIIIL:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The 
"Planisphere,  1676"  shows  great  southern  continent  marked 
"  Terres  Antarctiques"  and  "  Terres  Australes  Inconnues." 

Sanson,  Dr.:  Atlas  Nouveau  [About  1690]:  (Harvard  Univ. 
Lib.).  The  "  Ma[)pemonde"  shows  "  Terre  Australe  et  Inconnue," 
but  smaller  than  earlier  maps. 

de  rislc,  Guillaume :  Atlas,  Amsterdam,  Jean  Covens  and  Cor- 
neille  Mortier  [About  1710]  :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The  "  Hem- 
isphere meridional "  shows  no  south  polar  continent :  this  is  the 
first  map  specially  of  the  Antarctic,  which  I  have  seen  in  an 
atlas. 


EARLY   MAPS.  39 

about  the  year  1600,  showing  a  great  land  extending 
south  of  New  Guinea,  pointed  towards  early  sight- 
ings of  the  coast  of  Australia."  It  is  almost  certain 
that  a  sailor,  Juan  Fernandez,  in  about  1563,  reached 
the  island  which  bears  his  name ;  and  there  is  also  a 
sort  of  legend,   that   in   about    1576,  he   may  have 

Moll,  Herman  :  A  new  and  correct  map  of  the  world,  London 
1719:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).     No  antarctic  land. 

Moll,  Herman  :  A  new  and  correct  map  of  the  world,  London 
[About  1735]  :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  No  antarctic  land. 

A  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  London,  T.  Osborne, 
MDCCXLV.,  Vol.  I. :— H.  Moll:  "  A  New  Map  of  the  World" 
etc. :  (Amer.  Phil.  Soc).     No  antarctic  land. 

Lowitz,  M.  G.  M. :  "  Mappemonde,  1746":  In  an  atlas:  (Har- 
vard Univ.  Lib.).  Taken  from  the  ' '  Cartes  gen^rales  "  of  Professor 
Hasius.  No  great  antarctic  land  on  this  map,  which  gives  the 
"  Cap  de  la  Circoncision  "  and  "  L  de  la  Roche,"  the  latter  in 
about  45°  south  latitude. 

Palairet,  Jean  :  Atlas  MHhodique,  1755  :  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.). 
"36  mappemonde,  1755"  shows  no  southern  land  except  "  C. 
de  la  Circoncision." 

Unknown  author  :  Mappe- Monde  divisee  en  ses  guatre  parties 
^759-  (Amer.  Phil.  Soc).  This  marks  "  Terre  vue  par 
F.  Drak  "  in  about  62°  to  63°  south  latitude,  somewhat  west  of 
Cape  Hoorn. 

"  Mr.  R.  H.  Major  (iiar/j'  Voyages  to  Terra  Australis,  71020  called 
Australia,  London  *  *  *  Hakluyt  Society,  MDCCCLIX.) 
gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  some  Portuguese  mariners  probably  saw 
a  good  deal  of  the  coast  of  Australia  between  1512  and  1542  ;  and 
he  cites  six  maps,  the  latest  drawn  in  1555,  in  support  of  his  view, 
which  is  probably  correct. 

Professor  Morris  ( Transactions  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society  of  Australasia,  Victoria,  Melbourne,  Vol.  XVL,  1S98, 
pages  15-27:  "Terra  Australis  Incognita")  .seems  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  early  maps  showing  land  in  the  position  of  Aus- 
tralia were  drawn  from  imagination. 


40  ANTARCTICA. 

reached  the  coast  of  New  Zealand®^  and  certainly  the 
maps  of  the  succeeding  period  would  seem  to  point  to 
some  such  discovery.  Another  noteworthy  fact  is  that 
several  maps  of  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
some  thirty  years  before  the  voyage  of  Drake  and 
some  sixty  years  before  the  voyage  of  LeMaire,  show 
Tierra  del  Fuego  as  an  enlarged  island.^^ 

On  the  27th  of  June,  1598,  a  squadron  of  five  ships 
sailed  from  Goree  Harbor,  Holland,  for  the  West 
Indies.^  They  were  "  de  Hoope,"  Admiral  Jaques 
Mahu,    pilot   William   Adams ;     "  de    Liefde,"    Vice 

^^  Burney,  James,  Captain  in  the  Royal  Navy :  A  Chronological 
History  of  the  Voyages  and  Discoveries  in  the  South  Sea  or 
Pacific  Ocean,  London,  Vol.  I.,  1803,  pages  274;  300-303:  (Lib. 
Co.,  Philadelphia). 

"  The  early  charts  showing  Tierra  del  Fuego  as  an  island  are 
probably  based  on  the  voyage  of  Captain  Francisco  de  Hoces, 
who  commanded  the  caravel  "  S.  Lesmes  "  of  80  tons,  in  the  ex- 
pedition of  Fr.  Garcia  Jofre  de  Loaysa  or  Loaisa  (Navarrette, 
Martin  Fernandez  de  :  Coleccion  de  los  Viages  y  Descubrimicntos, 
Tomo  V,  Madrid  1837,  pages  27,  28,  404  :  Amer.  Phil.  Soc). 
In  February,  1526,  Hoccs  ran  down  the  east  co;ist  of  South 
America,  and  turned  back  after  he  had  seen  that  the  land  finished 
in  55°  south  latitude :  he  may  have  reached  Cape  Hoorn,  but  it 
is  more  likely  that  his  farthest  point  was  the  eastern  end  of  Staaten 
Land. 

"  Bry,  Theodori  de :  Americae ;  Nona  &  Postrema  pars; 
Francof,  Apud  Malth.  Beckerum.,  1602:  "Vera  et  accurata 
descriptio  eorum  omnium,  quae  acciderunt  quinque  navibus 
Anno  1598,  AmstredaiTii  expeditis  &  ])cr  fretum  Magellanicum  ad 
Moluccanas  insulas  pcrrccturis  :  naui  praecipue  Fidci,  Capitano 
de  VVeert  addicta  qui  post  infinitos  labores  &  aerumnas  biennio 
intc);ro  tf)1enites,  t.indcni  anno  1600,  re  infecta  ad  snos  rediit "  : 
(Lib.  Co.  I'hiladelphia). 


GERRTTSZ,    CASTTGIJO,    CI.AESS.  4I 

Admiral  Simon  de  Cordes  ;  "  het  Gheloove,"  G.  Van 
Benningen ;  "  de  Trouvve,"  J.  van  Bockholt ;  and 
"de   Blijde  Bootschap,"   Sebald  de  Wirt. 

Jansz,  Barent,  Chirurj>^ijn  :  Ilislorisch  ende  Wijdlloopigh  ver- 
hacl  van  ' tghcne  dc  vijf  schcpen  {die  ini  Jaer  i6()R  [/f^i?]  tot  Rot- 
terdam tot'gherust  zijn  om  door  de  Straet  Magcllana  liarcn  hatidel 
te  dryven)  wedervarai  is  tot  den  7  September  1^99,  etc.  ;  Tot 
Amstelredam  by  Michicl  Colijn,  etc.,  1617:  (Kon.  Bib.  The 
Hague).  There  is  an  earlier  edition  of  Jansz'  narrative,  and  this 
I  have  not  seen. 

Beschryvinghe  van  de  Voyagie  om  den  geheeleji  IVerelt  Cloot 
ghcdacn  door  Olivier  van  Noort  van  Verecht,  Gencracl  over  vier 
Schepen,  etc.  ;  Amstelredani,  by  Cornelis  Claessz  [1602]  :  (Univ. 
Bib.,  Leyden). 

Herrera,  Antoine  de,  Grand  Chroniqueur  des  Indes  et  Chroni- 
queur  de  Castille :  Description  des  Indes  Occidcntales,  qii  on  ap- 
pelle  aujourdhuy  le  Nouvcau  Monde,  Tra^islatce d' Espagnol en 
Franfais ;  A  Amsterdam,  chez  Michel  Colin,  Anno  M.D.C.XXII.: 
pages  179-195,  "Recueil  des  Navigations  de  I'Estroit  de  Magel- 
lan," pages  189-193,  "  Voyages  de  cinq  bateaux  de  Jaques  Mahu 
et  Simon  de  Cordes,  qui  partirent  de  Rotterdam,  I'an  1598,  pour 
I'Estroit  de  Magellan"  :   (Amer.  Geog.  Soc). 

Herrera,  Antonio  de:  Noviis  Orbis,  Sive  Descriplio  Indiae 
Occidentalis ;  Amstelodami,  Apud  Michaelem  Bibliopolam,  M. 
D.C.XXH:  (Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia.). 

[A  de  Herrera]  Nievve  Welt,  anders  glienaempt  West  Indien  ; 
t' Amsterdam,  Michiel  Colijn,  1622  :  (Kon.  Bib.  The  Hague). 

Brosses,  Charles  de  :  Histoire  des  Navigations  aux  Terres 
Australes ;  A  Paris,  chez  Durand,  M.D.CCLVI.  :  Tome  Premier, 
pages  274-294,  ' '  Simon  de  Cordes  et  Sebald  de  Weert :  En  Ma- 
gellanique"  :  (Amer.  Geog.  Soc.  ;  Pub.  Lib.  Boston). 

Burney:  A  Chronological  History,  etc.,  London,  1S06  :  Part 
IL,  Chapter  XH.,  pages  1S6-204  :  "Voyage  of  Five  Ships  of 
Rotterdam,  under  the  command  of  Jacob  Mahu,  and  Simon  de 
Cordes,  to  the  South  Sea"  :  (Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia). 

Wichmann,  Dr.  Arthur,  Professor  an  der  Universitilt  Utrecht : 
Dirck  Gcrritsz,  Ein  Beitrag  zur  Entdeckungsgeschiclite  des  16"" 
und  if"  Jahrliunderts,  Groningen,  J.  B.  Wolters,  1899. 


42  ANTARCTICA. 

The  expedition  met  with  trouble  from  the  start  and 
was  one  of  the  most  disastrous  on  record.  The  gen- 
eral or  admiral,  Jaques  Mahu,  died  on  the  24th  or  27th 
of  September,  and  this  involved  some  changes  among 
the  officers.  Sebald  de  Wirt  became  commander  of 
"  het  Gheloove  "  and  a  pilot  or  boatswain,  Dirck  Ger- 
ritsz,^^  was  appointed  commander  of  "  de  Blijde 
Bootschap."  The  fleet  entered  the  Strait  of  Magal- 
haes^^  on  April  6th,  1599,  and  spent  most  of  the 
southern  winter  in  la  Baye  Verte^'  or  Cordes  Bay^ 
"where  they  were  miserably  lodged."''^  On  the  4th 
of  September,  1599,  the  ships  reached  the  Pacific,  and 
three  days  later,  on  account  of  a  furious  storm,  the 
ships  parted  company.  "  Het  Gheloove  "  eventually 
returned  to  Europe.  "  De  Hoope  "  and  "  de  Liefde  " 
reached  Japan  and  are  then  lost  sight  of.  The  pilot 
William  Adams,  was  ordered  by  the  Emperor  to  come 
to  Osaca.     He  did  so  and  the  Emperor  never  would 

"  Gcrritsz' s  name  is  spelled  in  a  variety  of  ways.  In  de  Bry  it 
is  given  as  "  Dirrick  Gcirilsz "  and  also  "  Dicrick  Geeritsz." 
Dr.  Wichmann  asserts  that  "  Dirck  Gerritsz  "  is  the  correct  spell- 
ing :  he  has  also  discovered  that  Gerritsz  was  the  first  Hollander 
who,  as  early  at  least  as  1585,  reached  China  and  Japan. 

^°  I  quite  agree  with  Cajitain  James  Burney  (A  Chronological 
Hisloiy,  etc.,  Vol.  I.,  page  13)  in  thinking  it  a  "strange  practice  " 
to  alter  and  translate  proper  names.  The  correct  orthography  of 
the  name  of  P'crnao  de  MagalhaOs  should  be  restored  to  the 
strait  so  justly  called  after  him. 

"  Herrera. 

"  Biirney. 

'■'  I  lerrera. 


GERRITSZ,    CASTIGLIO,    CLAESS.  43 

let  him  depart,  and,  after  marrying  a  Japanese  woman, 
Adams  lived  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  Japan. 
"  De  Trouvve "  was  captured  by  the  Portuguese. 
"  De  Blijde  Bootschap,"  after  having  its  name 
changed  to  "  het  Vligend  Hart,"  was  surrendered 
to  the  Spaniards.''" 

Barent  Jansz  in  his  narrative  mentions  Gerritsz 
several  times.  He  also  gives  a  description  of  the 
"pinguins"  of  Tierra  del  Fuego"  with  a  woodcut  of 
penguin  hunting,  and  this  is  one  of  the  earliest  ac- 
counts of  this  antarctic  bird.  In  Van  Noort's  relation,''- 
Gerritsz  is  reported  to  have  missed  the  island  of  Santa 
Maria,  and  then  to  have  arrived  at  Valparaiso  in  a 
miserable  condition.  None  of  these  earliest  accounts, 
however — and  this  is  an  important  fact — make  any 
mention  of  an  antarctic  discovery. 

In  1622,  however,  Herrera's  Description  des  Indes 
Occidentales  appeared  at  Amsterdam  in  French,  Latin 
and  Dutch  editions.  In  these  reprints  a  passage  was 
intercalated,  that  does  not  seem  to  have  appeared  in 
the  earlier  Spanish  edition,  and  which  was,  therefore, 
probably  not  due  to  Herrera  himself.  This  paragraph"^ 
says  that  the  ship  commanded  by  Dirck  Gerritsz  was 

■^This  account  ol  the  fate  of  the  ships  is  taken  from  Burney  and 
Wichmann. 

^^  Historisck  ende  Wijdlloopigh,  etc.,  pages  68-70. 

^^  Beschryvingke  va?i  de  Voyagie,  etc.,  page  37. 

"The  French  edition  of  Herrera,  page  193,  says:  "  La  Fuste 
de  Diric  Gherrits  qui  s'estoit  esgaree  le  15  Septembre  des  autres, 
scavoir  de  Wert  &  Cordes,  fut  portee  par  la  tempeste  jusques'  a 


44  ANTARCTICA. 

separated  from  the  rest  of  the  fleet  on  coming  out  of 
the  Strait  of  Magalhaes  and  that  it  was  carried  by 
tempestuous  weather  to  64°  south  latitude,  where  they 
discovered  land,  with  high  mountains,  covered  with 
snow,  resembling  the  land  of  Norway  and  stretching 
away  in  the  direction  of  the  Solomon  Islands. 

Many  subsequent  writers  gave  more  or  less  elab- 
orate notices  about  Gerritsz,  and  among  them  may  be 

64.  degr^s  au  Sud  de  1'  Estroit  :  ou  ils  descouvrivent  un  haut  pays 
avec  des  montagnes  pleines  de  neige  a  la  fa5on  du  pays  de  Norv- 
veghen  :  d'icy  ils  firent  voile  vers  Chile  en  intention  d'aller  trouver 
leurs  compagnons  en  1'  ile  de  6".  Marie  :  mais  ils  furent  portes  par 
fortune  au  port  de  S.  lago  de  Valparayso ;  ou  ils  furent  accabl6s 
des  ennemis." 

The  Latin  version,  folio  80,  is  as  follows  :  "  Liburnica  que  Theo- 
dorum  Gerardi  vehebat,  tempestatum  vi  versus  Austruni  jiroinilsa 
fuit  ad  gradus  usque  64.  in  qua  altitudine  posita  ad  Australem 
plagam  solum  monto  sum  &  nivibus  opertum  eminus  conspexit, 
qualis  Norwegiae  esse  soletfacies.  Versus  insulas  Salomonis  ex- 
porrigi  videbatur.  Hinc  Chilam  petijt  &  ab  insula  S.  Mariae  quo 
loci  socios  se  repertutum  putabat,  aberrans,  in  portum  S.  Jacobi 
de  val  Parayso  se  recepit  &  cum  liumanilatis  ac  benevolcntiae 
officia  omnia  negarent  indigcnae,  itinere  longo  confectis  vectoribus 
&  commeatus  indiga,  in  hostium  manus  se  dedit." 

The  Dutch  edition,  folio  82,  gives  the  following  account  : 
"  Door  alle  dese  contrarie  windcn  ist  ai)parent  dat  Dirck  Ger- 
ritsz die  ghebreck  aen  sijn  Boech-Spriet  en  Fockemast  hadde  soo 
verre  suytwaerts  is  ghedrevcn,  namclick  op  vier  en  tsestich  graden 
befundcn  de  Straet  op  die  hoochte  wesende  sach  int  Suyden  leg- 
gen  heel  hooch  Berchachtich  landt  vol  Sneeus  als  het  Landt  van 
Norvveghcn  heel  wit  bedeckt,  en  strecktede  hem  als  oj)  het  nae 
de  Kylanden  van  Salomon  wilde  loopen,  van  hier  is  hy  nae  Chili 
gheloopen,  ende  het  Eylant  van  St.  Maria  missende,  al  waer  hy 
sijn  ghesellschap  meynde  te  vinden  is  indc  Haven  van  S.  Jago,  te 
Val  Parayso  aengiiecomen,  en  ghcen  vrientschap  vindende  mach- 
teloos  zijnde  is  in  de  handen  van  sijn  vranden  moeten  vallen." 


GERRITSZ,    CASTUILIO,    CLAESS.  45 

cited  :  Purchas  ;*"  De  Brosses;^^  Dalrymplc  ;'''''  Burney  ;" 
Duperrey;""*  John  Barrow,  F.  R.  S.  and  Vice  President 
of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society;"'-'  Dr.  Webster ; '" 
Dumont-D'Urville  ;'^  John  Lothrop  Motley  ;"  G.  Neu- 
mayer  ;"^  A.  Schiick  ;"*  Sir  Clements  R.  Markhani  i'''  L. 
Friederichsen  ;'"  the  present  writer  himself;"  and  finally 

""  Purchas,  Samuol,  B.  D.  :  Hakhiyhis  Posthuvms  or  Prirchas 
His  Pilgrimcs ;  imprinted  at  London  for  Henry  Fcatherston, 
1625  ;  Fourth  Part,  page  1391,  note  :   (K6n.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

"  Hisloirc  dcs  Navigations,  etc.,  Vol.  I.,  page  290. 

^  Dalrymple,  Alexander :  A  Historical  Collection  of  the  sev- 
eral voyages  and  discoveries  in  the  South  Pacific  Ocean;  Lon- 
don, MDCCLXX.,  Vol.  L,  page  94;  MDCCLXXL,  Vol.  IL, 
page  19:    (Bib.  Nat.  Paris;  K6n.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

"  A  Chronological  History,  etc..  Vol.  IL,  pages  198,  204. 

"*  Duperrey,  Capitaine  L.  L  :  Voyage  autoiir  dii  Monde  *  *  * 
sur  la  corvette  de  Sa  Majesty  La  Coquille,  Paris,  Bertrand,  1829, 
"  Hydrographie,"  page  102. 

"  The  fournal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London 
for  MDCCCXXX-XXXL  ;'  London,  MDCCCXXXL,  page  62. 

"  Narrative  of  a  Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  L,  page  136. 

"    Voyage  au  Pole  Snd,  etc..  Vol.  II. ,  pages  i,  2. 

"  The  United  Netherlands,  Chapter  XXXVI. 

"  Zeitschrift  der  Gesellschaft  fur  Erdkunde  zic  Berlin,  Sieb- 
enter  Band,  1872,  page  124. 

"  Zeitschrift  fiir  rvissenschaftliche  Geographic,  Weimar,  18S8  ; 
VI.,  pages  242-264  "  Entwickelung  unscrer  Kenntniss  der  Lander 
im  Siiden  von  Amerika." 

"  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  Ninth  Edition  ;  Article  ' '  Polar  Re- 
gions. ' ' 

"  Mittheilungen  der  Geographisclien  Gesellschaft  in  Hainbtirg, 
1891-92;  Hamburg,  1895;  pages  299-305,  "  Begleitworte  zur 
Karte  des  Dirck  Gherritz  Archipels." 

"  Journal  of  tlie  Franklin  Institute,  1901,  Vol.  CLI.,  pages 
243-247- 


46  ANTARCTICA. 

again  Sir  Clements  R.  Markham.'*  Belief  in  Gerritsz's 
discover)'  may,  therefore,  be  considered  as  having 
been  generally  accepted,  and  in  fact  we  find  the  name 
"Gherritz  Land  "  in  use  by  Burney  as  early  as  1806, 
while  in  the  last  few  years,  the  name  "  Gherritz  Archi- 
pelago "  has  been  applied  to  the  southern  portion 
of  West  Antarctica  by  A.  Schiick,  L.  Friederichsen, 
Petermann  s  Mitteilungen,  Ant.  Mensing,''^  Dr.  Fricker 
and  others. 

It  turns  out,  however,  that  everything  believed  of 
Gerritsz  is  more  or  less  uncertain  and  incorrect. 
Starting  apparently  from  a  reference  in  a  book  by 
J.  K.  J.  de  Jonge,**"  Dr.  Sophus  Ruge*^  probably  v/as 
the  first  to  throw  doubts  on  the  discovery  of  Gerritsz, 
and  he  was  followed  by  Dr.  Wichmann^-  in  his  mas- 
terly treatise. 

In  the  "  Rijksarchief  "  at  the  Hague  there  is  amanu- 

"^^  Geographical  Journal,  London,  1 901,  Vol.  XVIII.,  page  21. 

"  Caerte  va^ide  Reysen  cnde  Handel  der  Hollanders,  Amster- 
dam, Frederik  Muller  &  Co.  ;  "  Samengestekl  door  Ant.  Men- 
sing;  Uytgegeven  door  de  Commissie  voor  Oiidt-I  lolkmdt  te 
Amstcldam  1895":  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  This  marks  "Dirk 
Gherritsz  Archipel,  1599". 

*°de  Jonge,  Jhr.  Mr.  J.  K.  J.  :  De  Opkomst  van  hct  ncdct- 
la7tdisck  Gczag  in  Oosl- Indie,  s' Gravenhage,  Amsterdam, 
MDCCCLXIV.  ;  Vol.  II.,  page  219:  (Univ.  Bib.  Amster- 
dam). 

''^Deutsche  Geographische  Blatter,  Bremen,  1895,  XVIII., 
pages  147-171;  "Das  unbckannte  Siidland "  :  (Univ.  Bib. 
Amsterdam). 

"^  Dirck  Gerritsz,  etc. 


GERRITSZ,    CASTIGLIO,    CLAESS.  47 

script^  which  contains  copies  of  the  "  Instructions  " 
prepared  for  Admiral  Jacques  I'Hermite  and  which 
were  not  pubHshed  in  the  account  of  his  journey.**' 
The  manuscript  is  old  and  was  written  probably  about 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Among  the  "  In- 
structions "  are  two  documents  of  great  importance 
in  the  history  of  Antarctic  discovery.  The  first  is  the 
"  Declaration  of  Jacob  Dircxz  of  Purmerlant,"  a 
companion  of  Gerritsz.  The  first  paragraphs  read 
thus : 

"  Declaration  of  Jacob  Dircxz  of  Purmerlant,*''  aged 
30  years,  made  on  the  17th  of  March  1603. 

"The  title  of  this  manuscript  is:  Instructien  en  Jour7iaalcn 
van  Brasiliaanschc  en  Ooslindische  Ryscn.  Zaedert  21  April 
162J  tot  28  Augustus  16S1,  beIwore7ide  tot  het  archief  der 
Wcstindischc  Compagnie.  Part  of  this  book  consists  of  the 
"  Bijlagen  tot  de  Instructie  voor  Jacques  I'Hermijte."  I  was 
able  to  see  this  book  and  have  copies  made  of  parts  of  it,  through 
the  kindness  of  Mr.  J.  Bruggeman,  "Adjunct  Commis  "  in  the 
"  Rijksarchief "   at  the  Hague. 

'*  Journal  van  de  Nassauschc  Vloot,  ofle  Beschrijvhigh  vafi  de 

Vqyagie  om  den  ganischcn  Aerdt-  Cloot,  ghcdann  met  elf  Schip- 

pen :  on  der"  t  beleyd  van  den  Admirael  /agues  I'  Heremite,  ende 

Vice  Admirael  Geen  Huygcn  Schapenhani,  inde  Jahren  i62j, 

1624,   i62§  &  1626 ;  T  Amstelrcdam,    by   Hessel  Gerritz  ende 

Jacob  Pietersz  wachten   1626  :     (Bib.  Johannis  Thysii,   Leyden). 

Another    edition :   Journal   van   de    Nassauschc    Vloot,   etc. , 

Amstelredam,  voor  Joost   Hartgertsz     *     *     H:     Anno  1648. 

'''Instructien   C7i  Joiirnaalen,  etc.,  "Bijlagen,"   etc.,  folio  43. 

"Verclaringe  van  Jacob  Dircxz  van  Purmerlant  out  zijnde 
30  jaren,  gedaen  den  17'°  Martii  1603. 

' '  Den  deposant  is  geweest  constapel  op  het  Vliegende  Hart, 
ende  op  het  laetste  onderstierman. 


48  ANTARCTICA. 

"  The  attester  was  gunner  on  the  '  Vliegende  Hart ' 
and  finally  under-pilot. 

"  On  the  4th  of  September  1599,  they  ran  out  of 
the  Strait  of  Magalhaes  into  the  South  Sea,  on  the 
third  day  thereafter  they  were  separated  by  a  great 
storm  from  the  other  ships,  came  three  times  to  within 
50  degrees,  and  were  driven  twice  to  55  degrees  and 
once  to  56  degrees. 

"  From  there  they  came  to  the  Island  of  Chiloe  in 
44  degrees,  and  then  came  to  the  Island  of  .St.  Maria, 
which  is  situated  at  the  heigh th  of  37  degrees,  which 
they  considered  was  La  Mocha,  from  there  they  came 
to  the  heighth  of  35  degrees,  where  they  thought  to 
find  the  island  of  St.  Maria,  and  all  this  on  account  of 
the  English  sea  charts. 

"Den  4  September  1599  liepen  uijt  de  Magallanische  straet  in 
Mar  del  Zur,  op  den  derden  dach  daer  naer  wicrden  met  een 
grooten  storm  van  d'ander  schepen  versteecken,  quamen  tot 
driemalen  toe  binncn  den  50  graet,  ende  wicrden  tweemal  op  55 
graden,  ende  eenmal  oj)  56  giaden  gedreven. 

"  Van  daer  quamen  zij  bij  het  eylant  van  Chiliie  op  44  graden, 
ende  daer  quamen  zij  aent  eylant  van  St.  Maria,  zijnde 
gelegen  op  de  hooch te  van  37  graden,  welcke  zij  meenden  te 
wesen  La  Moche,  van  daer  zijn  zij  gecomen  op  de  hoochte  van 
35  graden,  alwaer  zij  mcijndcn  het  eylant  van  St.  Maria  te  vin- 
den,  ende  dat  alles  volgens  hunne  Engelsclie  zcecacrtcn. 

' '  Van  daer  seijden  zij  in  de  haven  van  Valpareise,  sijnde  gele- 
gen op  32  graden  ende  36  minuten,  alw.-icr  zij  te  lande  comende 
soo  wiert  hun  capitcijn  Dirck  (jerritsz,  ende  hij  Jacob  Dirc.xe, 
ende  de  provoost  gequetst  van  de  Spaignaerden,  aklaer  wonende, 
twelck  gescliiede  den  17  November  1599.  Dirck  Gerrit.sz  hun 
schipper  zijnde  Iialli'  Ijrocdor  van  hun  cajiilciju,  starll  in  de 
navolgende  nacht,  soo  zij  gecomen  waren  in  Valpareise,"  etc. 


GERRITSZ,    CASTIGLIO,    CLAESS.  49 

"  From  there  they  sailed  to  the  harbor  of  Val- 
paraiso, which  lies  in  32  degrees  36  minutes,  where, 
when  they  went  ashore,  their  Captain,  Dirck  Gerritsz, 
and  himself,  Jacob  Dircxz,  and  the  provost,  were 
wounded  by  the  Spaniards,  which  happened  on  the 
17th  of  November  1599.  Dirck  Gerritsz,  their  ship- 
master and  half  brother  of  the  captain,  died  in  the 
following  night,"  etc. 

The  rest  of  the  declaration  is  taken  up  with  an 
account  of  the  stay  of  Dircxz  among  the  Spaniards 
and  with  notes  about  the  country ;  the  quoted  por- 
tion, however,  is  almost  conclusive  evidence  that 
Gerritsz  did  not  cross  the  60th  parallel  of  south  lati- 
tude, and,  therefore,  that  he  did  not  discover  land  in 
the  Antarctic.  It  may  be  well  to  add  that  this  docu- 
ment is  the  only  account  known  by  any  member  of  the 
crew  of  "  de  Blijde  Bootschap  "  which  has  come  down 
to  us  and  that  there  is  no  line  of  writing  or  print  in 
existence  which  can  be  attributed  to  Gerritsz  himself. 

The  other  document,  however,  states  that  a  ship 
did  reach  64°  south  latitude.  This  is  in  the  same 
binding^  and  the  beginning  reads  as  follows: 
"  Laurens  Claess  of  Antwerp,  aged  about  40  years, 

**  InstrucHen  eti  Jaumaalen,  etc.,  "  Bijlagen,"  etc.,  folio  23. 

"  Laurens  Claess  van  Antwerpen,  out  ontrent  40  jaren,  heb- 
bende  voor  hoochbootsman  op  het  Magellanische  Schip,  genaemt 
De  blijde  bootschap,  is  neffens  andere  schepen  uijt  het  Goeder- 
esche  Gadt  gelopen  op  St.  Jans  avont  1598  onder  den  Admiral 
Mahu,  heeft  gevaren  onder  den  Adniirael  Don  Gabriel  de  Castig- 
lio  met  drie  schepen  langs  de  custen  van  Gilo  naer  Valpariso, 


50  ANTARCTICA. 

has  served  as  boatswain  on  the  Magalhaes  ship,  called 
de  Blijde  bootschap,  which  sailed  with  other  ships 
from  the  harbor  of  Goree  on  Saint  Johns  day  of  the 
year  1598  under  Admiral  Mahu,  has  served  under  the 
Admiral  Don  Gabriel  de  Castiglio  with  three  ships 
along  the  coast  of  Chili  towards  Valparaiso,  and  from 
there  towards  the  Strait,  and  that  in  the  year  1603, 
and  he  went  in  March  to  64  degrees  where  they  had 
much  snow,  in  the  following  month  of  April  they 
returned  to  the  coast  of  Chili,"  etc. 

This  appears  to  be  the  first  direct  record  of  a  ship 
crossing  the  sixtieth  parallel  of  south  latitude  and  it 
seems  that  it  was  a  Spanish  ship.  It  is  much  to  be 
hoped  that  further  records  of  this  voyage  and  of  Don 
Gabriel  de  Castiglio  may  yet  be  found  :  perhaps  there 
are  some  still  buried  among  the  Spanish  archives. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Laurens  Claess  says  nothing 
of  land  nor  of  high  mountains  in  the  Antarctic.  Dr. 
Ruge  and  Dr.  Wichmann  both  appear  to  think,  there- 

ende  van  daer  naer  Strate,  ende  dat  in  den  jare  1603,  ende  is 
geweest  in  Martio  op  64  graden,  aldaer  hadden  zij  veel  sneeiis,  in 
de  volgende  maent  April  zijn  zij  wedcr  gckeert  aen  de  custe  van 
Gilo,  heefl  met  zijn  heere  den  bisschop  van  Einto  Don  Fraij 
Louis  Lopes  de  Soles  Augustini  acnilcr,  Don  Pedro  Sordes  de 
Ouleau,  gevaren  anno  1604  naer  Isclos  Cognilas,  sijn  drije  int 
getal,  het  eerste  genaemt  St.  Nicolaes  de  Tolentine,  het  tweede 
St.  Veronica  ende  het  derde  St.  Antonio  de  Padua,  welcke  zijn 
gelegen  op  de  zuijdelijcke  hooclite  van  4  graden  400  mijkn  van 
de  custe  van  Peru  naer  de  gissinge  van  de  Spaignaerden,  ende 
naer  zijn  gissinge  ontrcnt  300  S])aensche  mijlen,  leggen  seer  nae 
bij  oost  ende  west  van  malcanderen,  van  het  eerste  tot  het 
tweede  zijn  acht  glasens  seijlens.     *     *     *     "  etc. 


GERRITSZ,    CASTIGUO,    CLAESS.  5 1 

fore,  that  there  was  no  land  discovered,  and  of  course 
there  may  not  have  been  on  that  particular  journey. 
But  this  only  deepens  the  mystery.  For  although 
the  passage  in  Herrera  is  doubtless  incorrect  in 
ascribing  the  discovery  to  Gerritsz,  still  there  is  no 
getting  round  the  fact  that  a  statement  was  published 
in  Amsterdam  in  1622  in  three  languages,  saying  that 
there  was  land  in  64°  south  latitude,  about  south  of 
Cape  Hoorn,  and  that  it  was  mountainous  and  re- 
sembled the  coast  of  Norway.  And  a  mountain- 
ous land  is  there  and  it  does  resemble  the  coast 
of  Norway :  in  fact  the  first  thought  suggested  to 
the  writer  on  seeing  Dr.  Frederick  A.  Cook's  pho- 
tographs of  Palmer  Land  and  Danco  Land  was  how 
much  those  coasts  resembled  the  northern  coast  of 
Norway  and  the  Lofoten  Islands  in  the  early  spring 
before  the  winter  snow  had  all  melted  away  from  the 
edge  of  the  fiords.  While  we  may  never  be  sure  of 
the  name  of  the  discoverer,  yet  it  seems  as  if  it  must 
be  accepted  as  true  that  some  one  sighted  some  of 
the  islands  of  West  Antarctica  before  the  year  1622. 

There  do  not  seem  to  be  any  maps  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  marking  any  lands  as  discovered  by 
Gerritsz,  Claess  or  Castiglio.  On  some  old  maps, 
however,  is  charted,*'  east  and  south  of  Tierra  del 

"  Abraham  Ortelius  Antverpianus :  Tkeatrum  Orbis  Terra- 
rum,  Antwerp,  MDLXX.  :  (Amer.  Phil.  Soc.  ;  Pub.  Lib.  Bos- 
ton). Maps  colored.  The  "Typus  orbis  Terrarum"  shows 
"Terra  Australis  nondum  cognita."     The  "  Americae  sive  novi 


52  ANTARCTICA. 

Fuego,  a  land  with  a  great  gulf,  the  "Golfo  de  San 
Sebastiano  "  and  an  island,  the  "  Ysola  de  Cressalina." 

orbis ' '  shows  ' '  Golfo  de  S.  Sebastiano ' '  about  thirty  degrees  of 
longitude  east  of  the  Strait  of  Magalhaes,  and  extending  to 
about  64°  south  latitude.  An  island  there,  in  59°  south  latitude, 
is  marked  "Cressalina." 

lo.  Antonio  Magini :  Gcographiac  univcrsae  Uim  veteris 
:f:  *  *  ci.  Plohmae!,  etc.,  1597:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The 
' '  Orbis  Terrae  Conipendiosa  Descriptio  ' '  shows  ' '  Terra  Austra- 
lis ' '  in  both  hemispheres :  the  ' '  Y.  de  Cressalina ' '  is  marked. 
The  "  Universi  Orbis  Descriptio  ad  Usum  Navigantium"  gives 
the  "Terra  Australis  Nondum  Cognita"  and  marks  the  "Golfo 
de  S.  Sebastiano." 

Gio.  Antonio  Magini:  Geog)afia  cioe'  descriptione  *  *  * 
di  CI.  Tolomeo,  etc.,  Venetia,  MDXCVIII.  :  also  La  Scconda 
Parte  della  Gcograjia  di  CI.  Tolomco,  Venetia,  MDXCVII. : 
(Harvard  Univ.  Lib.  :  Lib.  Co.,  Philadelphia).  The  "Orbis 
Terrae  Conipendiosa  Descriptio ' '  gives  the  great  ' '  Terra  Aus- 
tralis,"  with  the  "  Y.  de  Cressalina." 

Joan  Antonio  Magini :  Gcographiac  univcrsae  turn  veteris 
*  *  *  CI.  Pto/emaei Gic,  1608:  (Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  The 
"Orbis  Terrae  Conipendiosa  Descriptio"  gives  the  "Terra  Aus- 
tralis," with  "  Y.  de  Cressalina." 

Gcrardi  Mcrcatoris  Atlas  sivc  Cosmographicac  etc.,  Henrici 
Hondij,  Amsterodami,  1630:  (Stadt  Bib.  Frankfurt  A.  M.). 
The  "America"  shows  the  "Terra  Australis  Nondum  Cognita." 
The  "Orbis  Terrae,"  dated  MDLXXXVU.,  also  shows  the 
"  Terra  Australis "  :  on  this,  west  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
in  about  48°  south  latitude,  a  place  is  marked  "  Proniontorii  Terre 
Australis  distans  450  leucas  a  Capite  Bone  .Spei  &  600  a  pronion- 
torio  S.  Augustini "  :  eastward  of  the  Strait  of  "  Magellanes  " 
a  land  in  about  54°  south  latitude  is  marked  "Ysola  dc  Cressa- 
lina." 

Dalrymple,  Alexander :  A  Historical  Collection  *  *  * 
South  Pacific  Ocean,  London,  Vol.  L,  MDCCLXX.  :  (Bib.  Nat. 
Paris).  In  the  map  of  the  Antarctic,  there  is  charted,  east  and 
south  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  a  land  with  a  great  gulf. 


EARLY    MAPS.  53 

It  has  been  sug^gested  that  they  were  either  Sandwich 
Land  or  South  Shetland.'^''  Possibly  this  is  true  and 
if  so  they  must  have  been  seen  by  some  now  entirely 
forgotten  mariner,  as  there  is  no  known  record  show- 
ing that  they  were  drawn  from  anything  but  imagina- 
tion. At  any  rate  they  have  nothing  to  do  with 
Gerritsz,  Claess  or  Castiglio,  for  they  are  charted  at 
least  as  early  as   1570,  and  from  then  on   to   1770. 

We  find  Pedro  Fernandez  de  Oueros  next  seek- 
ing for  a  Tierra  Austral  in  i6o5.'*'''  His  able  second 
in  command,  Luis  Vaez  de  Torres,  sighted  in  1606, 
an  extended  coast  south  of  New  Guinea.  Tlie 
same  land  was  seen  also  that  year  by  a  Dutch  vessel. 
In  1 61 6,  Theodoric  Hertoge,  in  the  Eendracht,  also 
sighted  another  part  of  this  land ;  and  the  voyage  of 
Abel  Tasman^  may  be  looked  on  as  the  last  step  in 
the  discovery  of  the  land,  which  was  at  first  sup- 
posed to  be  the  one  sought  for,  and  which  eventu- 
ally received  the  name  of  Australia. 

The  belief  that  Tierra  del  Fuego  extended  without 
interruption  to  the  regions  of  eternal  ice  was  settled 

^J.  Miers :  Journal  dcs  voyages,  dicoitvcrtcs  et  navigations 
tnoderncs,  par  J.  T.  Verneur,  Tome  Uixieme,  Paris,  Colnet,  1S21, 
pages  5-24. 

'"Bumey:  A  Chronological  History,  etc.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  272, 
313.  456. 

*' Abel  Jans zoon  Tasman  Jour7ial,  Amsterdam,  Frederik  Muller 
&  Co.,  1898  :   (Lib.  Co.,   Philadelplaia). 


54  ANTARCTICA. 

by  the  voyage  round  the  world  of  the  Dutchmen,  Le 
Maire  and  Schouten,  in  1616,  when  they  sailed  round 
South  America  and  christened  Cape  "  Hoorn."  "^ 
Although  not  an  antarctic  voyage,  yet  it  has  a  place 
in  the  history  of  antarctic  discovery  because  it  nar- 
rowed the  limits  of  Terra  Australis  Incognita.^- 

In  1643,  Hendrick  Brouwer's  squadron  sailed 
around  Staaten  Land,  because  the  wind  was  unfavor- 
able to  pass  Strait  Le  Maire.^^  This  voyage  also 
tended  to  a  narrowing  of  the  limits  of  Terra  Australis 
Incognita. 

"  Oost  ende  West-Indische  Spieghcl  waer  in  beschreven  werden 
de  twee  laetste  Navigaticyi.  *  *  *  De  eene  door  den  vermacrden 
Zeeheldt  /oris  van  Spilbergen  *  *  *  Dc  andcre  ghcdacn  by 
Jaeob  Le  Maire;  Amsterdam,  Jan  Janssz,  MDCXXI.  :  (Kon. 
Bib.  The  Hague).  Another  edition  of  this  book,  published  at 
Zutphen,  M.D.C.XXI. :  (Univ.  Bib.  Amsterdam).  The  "Nova 
Totius  Orbis  Terrarum  "  in  both  these  books  shows  Staaten  Land 
expanding  into  a  great  "Terra  Australis  Incognita." 

Ilerrera:  Description  des  Indes  Occidcnlalcs,  etc.,  Amsterdam, 
M.D.C.XXIL,  pages  105-174:  "Journal  &  Miroir  de  la  Naviga- 
tion Australe  du  vaillant  bien  renomme  Seigneur  Jaques  Le 
Maire  ;  Chef  et  conducteur  dc  deux  navires  Concorde  et 
Home". 

Burney:  A  Chronological  History,  etc.,  Vol.  W.,  pages  354-452. 

"'Three  atlases  of  Mercator  of  this  date  show  the  change 
brought  about  by  Le  Maire' s  voyage:  i,  Gerardi  Mercaloris  et 
J.  Hondii  Atlas,  Amsterdam,  Johan  Jaimson  and  Henricus 
Hondius,  MDCXXXIH.:  (Kon.  Oef  Bib.  Dresden).  2,  Gerardi 
Mcrcatoris  Atlantis  Novi ;  Henrici  Hondij,  Amstcrodami,  163.S  : 
(Kon.  Oef  Bib.  Dresden).  3,  Gerardi  Mcrcatoris  ct  J.  Hondii 
Atlas  Novus  ;  Amstelodami  ;  apud  Hcnricum  Ilondium  et  Joan- 
nem  Janssonium,  1638:  (Kon.  Oef  Bib.  Dresden).  These  all 
have  the  great  Terra  Australis,  with  Staaten  Land  as  jwrt  of  the 
ant;irctic  coast. 

'^^wxw^y :  A  Chronological  History ,  etc., Vol.  III.,  pages  115,  145. 


LE    MAIRE,    LA    ROCIlft,    SHARP.  55 

In  1675,  Antonio  de  la  Roche,*'  an  English  mer- 
chant, on  a  return  voyage  from  Peru,  was  unable 
to  sail,  on  account  of  high  winds  and  strong  cur- 
rents, through  the  Strait  of  Magalhaes  or  Strait 
Le  Maire.  He  was  driven  out  to  sea  eastward  of 
Staaten  Land  and  in  April  1675,  sighted  a  coast  or 
one  or  more  islands,  which  the  Spanish  writer,  Seixas 
y  Lovera,  places  in  55°  south  latitude.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  this  was  South  Georgia. 

Captain  Bartholomew  Sharp'^  commanded  an  expe- 
dition of  Buccaneers  to  the  South  Sea  in  the  years 

**  Seixas  y  Lovera,  El  Capitan  Don  Francisco  de  :  Descripcion 
Gcographica  y  Dcrrotcro  de  la  Region  Austral  Magallanica  ; 
Madrid  1690;  Capitulo  WW.,  Tihilo  XIX.:  (British  Museum). 
Lovera  says  he  drew  his  material  from  a  pamphlet  privately 
printed  in  1678.  He  mentions  the  unknown  land  several  times: 
"  que  desde  50.  a  55.  grados  ponen  la  Costa  Austral  de  la  Tierra 
Incognita,  empe9an  do  desde  la  alture  de  45.  grados  noste  Sur, 
CO  el  Cabo  de  Buena  Esperanga,  descayendo  la  Costa  hasta  la 
Aumentacion  de  los  dichos  55.  grados  azia  el  Polo  Antartico." 

Dalr}'mple,  Alexander :  A  Collcciioii  of  Voyages  chiefly  in  the 
Southern  Atlantick  Ocean;  London,  1775,  pages  S5-S8:  "Ex- 
tract from  the  Geographical  Description  of  Terra  Magallanica  " 
etc.,  "  Of  the  discovery  which  Antonio  de  la  Roch6  made  of 
another  new  passage  from  the  No.  Sea  to  the  So.  Sea." 

Burney:  A  Chronological  History,  etc.,  Vol.  III.,  pages  395-404. 

"  Hacke,  Captain  William  :  A  Collection  of  Original  Voyages, 
London,  James  Knapton,  1699:  "  II,  Captain  Sharp's  Journey 
over  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  expedition  into  the  South  Seas, 
written  by  himself":  (British  Museum). 

A  Collection  of  Voyages,  London,  James  and  John  Knapton, 
M.DCC.XXIX.  Vol.  IV.  ;  "  III,  Captain  Sharp's  Journey  of  his 
Expedition,"  page  82:  (Univ.  Bib.  Leyden). 


56  ANTARCTICA. 

1680  and  1681.  On  his  return  he  sailed  round  Cape 
Hoorn  in  January,  1681.  All  he  says  is:  "To  con- 
clude therefore  the  whole,  I  shall  only  tell  you,  that 
after  I  had  sailed  near  60  Deg.  S.  Lat,  and  as  far,  if 
not  farther,  than  any  before  me,  I  arrived  on  the  30th 
of  January  at  Nevis,  from  whence  in  some  time  I  got 
passage  for  England." 

Captain  Cowley""  sailed  round  the  world  in  1683- 
1685,  and  passed  outside  of  Staaten  Land  in  Janu- 
ary 1684.  "Then  haling  away  S.  W.  we  came 
abreast  with  Cape  Horn  the  14th  Day  of  February, 
where  we  chusing  of  Valentines,  and  discoursing  of 
the  Intrigues  of  Women,  there  arose  a  prodigious 
storm,  which  did  continue  till  the  last  day  of  the 
month,  driving  us  into  the  Lat.  of  60  Deg.  and  30 
min.  South,  which  is  further  than  ever  any  ship 
hath  sailed  before  South  ;  so  that  we  concluded  the 
discoursing  of  women  at  sea  was  very  unlucky  and 
caused  the  storm. 

"Towards  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  March, 
the  wind  coming  up  at  South,  we  were  soon  carried 
into  warm  weather  again  ;  for  the  weather  in  the  lat. 
of  60  Deg.  was   so  extreme  cold  that  we  could  bear 

*"  H;icke,  Captain  William  :  A  CoUcdion  of  On'giyial  Voyages, 
London,  James  Knapton,  1699:  "I,  Capt.  Cowley's  voyage 
round  the  globe":  (British  Museum). 

A  Collcdion  of  Voyages,  London,  James  and  John  Knajitoii, 
M.UCC.XXIX,  Vol.  IV.:  "II,  Captain  Cowley's  Voyage  around 
the  Globe":  (Univ.  Bib.  Leyden). 


COWLEY,    DAVIS,    ROGERS.  57 

drinking  3  quarts  of  Brandy  in  24  hours  each  man,  and 
be  not  at  all  the  worse  for  it,  provided  it  were  burnt." 

Captain  Edward  Davis  and  Lionel  Wafer, ^'  passed 
around  Cape  Hoorn,  sailing  eastward,  in  December 
1687  and  January  1688.  Wafer  says  they  went  to  62° 
45' south  latitude  on  Christmas  day,  1687;  that  they 
saw  some  tremendous  ice  islands  and  that  "from 
these  Hills  of  Ice  came  very  cold  Blasts  of  Wind." 
He  adds  that  clouds  kept  "  the  Sun  and  Stars  so 
obscured  that  we  could  take  no  Observation  of  our 
Lat.  yet,  by  our  Reckoning,  we  were  in  very  near  63 
Deg.  S.  Lat."  This  seems  to  have  been  well  east  of 
Cape  Hoorn,  as  when  they  returned  further  north, 
they  had  to  run  four  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  west- 
ward, in  order  to  reach  South  America. 

Woode  Rogers"**  "  left  Bristol  the  2d  of  August 
1708.     The   loth  of  January  of  the  next   year,  they 

"  Wafer,  Lionel :  A  New  Voyage  and  Description  of  the  Isthmus 
of  America,  London,  James  Knapton,  1699,  pages  216-220:  (Lib. 
Co.  Philadelphia). 

B.  [Behrens]  Monsieur  de :  Hisloire  de  V  expedition  de  trois 
vaisseaux  ;  A  la  Haye,  aux  d^pens  de  la  Compagnie,  M.D.CC- 
XXXIX. 

DeBrosses,  Charles :  Histoire  dcs  navigations  aux  Terres 
Aiistrales,  A  Paris,  chez  Durand,  M.DCC.LVL,  Tome  IL, 
"  Lionel  Waffer  en  Magellanique,"  pages  102-103. 

*  De  Brosses,  Charles  :  Histoire  des  navigations  aux  Terres 
Australes,  A  Paris,  chez  Durand,  MUCC.LVL,  Tome  IL,  "  Wodes 
Roggers,  en  Polynesie,"  page  184.  De  Brosses  says  he  got  his 
information  from  a  book  written  by  Rogers  himself  in  English 
and  published  at  Amsterdam,  by  I'Honore,  in  1725. 


58  ANTARCTICA. 

were  in  the  direction  of  the  south  pole  at  6i°  53' 
south  latitude,  [longitude  not  given]  where  there  was 
no  night.  *  *  *  Like  many  other  seamen  Rogers 
prides  himself  on  having  been  nearer  the  south  pole 
than  any  one  else." 

La  Barbinais^^  sailed  round  Cape  Hoorn  in  17 15, 
going  west.  He  says  i^""  "The  most  southerly  Cape 
of  these  islands,  is  the  one  of  which  Captain  Hoorn 
made  the  discovery."  A  violent  storm  struck  his 
ship  at  this  time  :  "  Our  sails  were  carried  away  by 
the  wind,  and  our  vessel  was  for  eight  days  the 
plaything  of  the  waves.  We  went  to  the  latitude 
of  61°  30'  towards  the  South." 

Captain  George  Shelvocke,'"^  in  17 19,  on  his  journey 
round  the  world,  reached,  while  rounding  Cape  Hoorn, 
61°  30'  south  latitude.  An  incident  occurred  then 
which  is  memorable,  because  it  suggested  the  Au- 
cietit  Mariner :  "In  short,  one  would  think  it  impos- 
sible that  any  thing  living  could  subsist  in  so  rigid  a 
climate;  and  indeed,  we  all  observed,  that  we  had  not 
had  the  sight  of  one  fish  of  any  kind,  since  we  were 
come  to  the  southward  of  the  Streights  of  le  Mair,  nor 

"  Le  Gentil  de  La  Barbinais :    Nouvcau    Voyage    auiour  dtc 
monde,  Paris,  chez  Briasson,  MDCCXXVIII.:  (British  Museum). 

""  Nouvcau  Voyage,  etc.,  Tome  I,  page  33. 

'"'  Shclvocke,  George  :  A  Voyage  roimdthc  world,  by  the  way  of 
the  Great  South  Sea,  performed  in  the  years  17 19,  20,  21,  22,  etc., 
London,  MUCCXXVL,  pages  69-74:  (Bib.  Nat.  Paris). 


LA    BARBINAIS,    SIIELVOCKE,    ROGGEVEEN.  59 

one  sea  bird,  except  a  disconsolate  black  albitross  (sic) 
who  accompanied  us  for  several  days,  hovering  about 
us  as  if  he  had  lost  himself,  till  Hatley  (my  second  Cap- 
tain) observing  in  one  of  his  melancholy  fits,  that  this 
bird  was  always  hovering  near  us,  imagin'd,  from  his 
colour,  that  it  might  be  some  ill  omen.  That  which,  I 
suppose,  induced  him  the  more  to  encourage  his  super- 
stition, was  the  continued  series  of  contrary  tempest- 
uous winds,  which  had  oppressed  us  ever  since  we  had 
got  into  this  sea.  But  be  that  as  it  would,  he,  after 
some  fruidess  attempts,  at  length,  shot  the  Albitross, 
not  doubting  (perhaps)  that  we  should  have  a  fair 
wind  after  it." 

Admiral  Jacob  Roggeveen,'"^  a  Hollander,  sailed 
round  the  world  in  1721-1722.  His  ships  were  the 
"Arendt,"  Captain  Jobon  Koster,  on  which  he  was  him- 
self; the  "Thienhoven,"  Captain  Jacob  Bauman ;  and 
the  "Afrikaansche  Galei,"  Captain  Heinrich  Rosenthal. 

""//I'euwe  Werken  van  het  Zceuwsch  Genootschap  dcr  Wetcii- 
schappen :  "  Dagverhaal  der  Ontdekkings-reis  van  Mr.  Jacob 
Roggeveen,  met  de  Schepen  den  Arendt,  Thienhoven,  en  De 
Afrikaansche  Galei,  in  de  jaren  1721  en  1722  ;"  Te  Middelburg, 
Gebroeders  Abrahams,  1838:  (Univ.  Bib.  Leyden). 

Behrens,  Carl  Friedrich  ;  Dcr  wohlversuchl  S'ud  Lander  das  ist 
atisfiikrliche  Rcise  Deschrcibung  tun  die  Well ;  Leipzig,  J.  G. 
Monath,  1738  :  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

B.  [Behrens]  Monsieur  de :  Histoire  de  P expcditio7i  de  trois  vais- 
seaux;  A  la  Haye,  aux  depens  de  la  Compagnie,  M.D.CC- 
XXXIX. :  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

Harris,  John :  Naviganlhtni  atqice  Itineranthim  Bibliotcca, 
London,  MDCCXLIV. :  "  The  Voyages  of  Commodore  Rogge- 
wein  ":  (British  Museum). 


60  ANTARCTICA. 

They  sailed  on  the  ist  of  August  1721  from  Texel.  In 
the  latitude  of  the  Strait  of  Magalhaes,  they  discov- 
ered an  island,  two  hundred  miles  in  circuit,  which  they 
called  "  Belgia  Australis"  (Falklands).  After  passing 
Strait  Le  Maire  they  rounded  Cape  Hoorn  in  January 
1722,  having  stormy  weather  for  three  weeks.  Rog- 
geveen  gives  his  highest  latitude  as  60°  44'.  His 
diary  says  :  ^"^ 

"  1722.  January  12  ;  We  found  ourselves  at  the 
heighth  of  60  degrees  30  minutes  towards  the  South 
Pole  "  *  '■'  *  January  1 3  ;  in  the  south  latitude  of 
60  degrees  i  minute  *  *  '"  January  14;  were  in 
the  latitude  of  60  degrees  9  minutes  south  *  *  * 
January  15  ;  found  ourselves  at  the  heighth  of  60  de- 
grees 44  minutes  towards  the  South  Pole  *  *  '" 
January  16;  at  60  degrees  39  minutes  south  latitude." 

Behrens,  a  member  of  the  expedition,  says  they 
reached  62°  30'  south  latitude  and  the  map  in  the  Ger- 
man edition  of  his  narrative  places  this  spot  several 
degrees  of  longitude  west  of  Cape  Hoorn.  Behrens' 
theory  of  the  formation  of  icebergs  is  ingenious ;  it 
is  the  earliest  mention  1  have  seen  suggesting  that 

Dalrymple,  Alexander :  ^?i  Historical  *■  *  *  in  the  South 
Pacific  Occaji,  London,  J.  Nourse,  MDCCLXXI.;  Vol.  II., 
pages  85-120,  "The  voyage  of  Jacob  Roggewein  ":  (Kon.  Oef. 
Bib.  Dresden). 

Marchand,  Etienne :  Voyage  aulotir  dn  »iondf  pendant  les 
annees  1790,  ijgi  el  1792 :  In  Vol.  III.  i.s  :  "  Un  cxanien  criti(|uc 
du  voyage  de  Roggewecn,  par  C.  P.  Claret  Fleurieu  ":  (Kon. 
Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

^'^Dagverhaal,  etc.,  pages  65-67. 


ROGGEVEEN,    BOUVET.  6 1 

icebergs  are  formed  on  land  and  not  on  the  open 
sea;  and  the  same  paragraph  contanis  also  the  first 
suggestion  I  have  seen  giving  definite  reasons  why 
there  must  be  lands  of  considerable  dimensions  near 
the  South  Pole  :  ^*'  "  These  icebergs,  which  one  sees 
here  at  the  heighth  of  Cape  Horn  or  in  more  south- 
ern latitudes,  show  that  the  southern  lands  extend 
towards  the  Pole,  as  do  the  lands  towards  the  North 
Pole  ;  for  one  can  easily  see,  that  the  icebergs  can- 
not grow  in  the  sea,  nor  would  such  monsters  increase 
from  any  greater  distance  than  ice  cotdd  freeze^^  but 
the  ice  springs  from  the  force  of  the  streams  and 
the  strong  winds  from  the  gulfs  and  the  lands.  One 
would  also  notice  no  currents  in  the  great  Ocean,  if 
these  did  not  flow  forth  from  the  lands,  as  we  our- 
selves noticed  here  towards  the  south-west."  ^"^ 

Monsieur  des  Loziers  (or  Desloziers  or  de  Lozier) 
Bouvet,''"  a  French  naval  officer,  in  1 738-1 739,  made 

"**  Der  Wohlversucht,  etc. ,  page  50. 

"**  This  sentence  is  not  clear  in  the  German  :  ' '  oder  das  ein  solch 
ungestummes  mehr  von  einer  solchen  weite  zugeben  wurde,  dass 
es  Eis  frieren  konnte." 

'"John  Harris  in  1744  {Nav iff a7if turn  etc.,  page  270)  gives  some 
reasons  why  there  must  be  a  southern  continent.  One  is  "that 
there  is  wanting  to  the  eye  a  Southern  Continent  in  order  to  give 
one  side  of  the  globe  a  resemblance  to  the  other,  *  *  * 
the  ne.xt  is,  that  experience  confirms  this  notion  ;  the  Fowls, 
the  Winds,  the  Currents,  the  Ice,  beyond  Cape  Horn,  all  confirm 
this  opinion,  that  there  is  land  towards  the  Southern  Pole." 

^'"  Mevioircs  paur  i hisloirc  des  Sciences  ct  des  Beaux- Arts  ; 
Commenc6s    d'Stre    imprimis    I'an    1701    a     Tr^voux  ;     Paris, 


62  ANTARCTICA. 

a  search  for  the  southern  lands,  seen  by  the  Sieur 
de    Gonneville    in    1503,   and    which    were    supposed 

MDCCXL.  ;  F^vrier,  1740,  pages  251-276:  "Relation  du  voy- 
age aux  Terres  Australes  des  Vaisseaux  I'Aigle  et  la  Marie ": 
(British  Museum).  This  is  the  original  account  of  Bouvet's  voy- 
age and  would  appear  to  have  been  written  by  Bouvet  himself. 

Histoire  Generate  des  Voyages,  etc.,  Paris,  Didot,  M.DCC- 
LIII.  ;  Tome  Onzieme,  pages  256-262:  "Voyage  de  deux 
Vaisseaux  Francois,  aux  Terres  Australes":  (Acad.  Nat.  Sci. 
Philadelphia). 

De  Brosses:  Histoire  des  Navigations  aux  Terres  Australes, 
Vol.  II.,  pages  255-259.  In  this  book,  is  a  "Carte  G6n6rale," 
by  the  Sr.  Robert  de  Vaugondy,  G6og.  ord.  du  Roi.  This 
shows  no  antarctic  lands  except  the  "Cap de  la Circoncision "  and 
in  about  42°  south  latitude,  south  of  Tristan  island  (?)  a  "  Cap  des 
Terres  Australes." 

Dalrymple,  Alexander :  A  Collection  of  Voyages  chiefly  in  the 
Southern  Atlantick  Ocean  ;  London,  1775:  "  Extrait  du  Voyage 
fait  aux  Terres  Australes,  les  annees  1738  cSc  1739,  par  Mr.  des 
Loziers  Bouvet,  commandant  la  Fregate  I'Aigle,  accompagn^e 
de  la  Fregate  la  Marie " :  (Kon.  Oef  Bib.  Dresden).  At  page 
I  of  the  Preface  is  .said:  "This  narrative  was  copied  by  M. 
d'Apres  from  the  Archives  of  the  French  East  India  Company." 
With  the  map  there  is  j)ublishcd  a  small  outline  drawing  of  the 
Cap  de  la  Circoncision,  and  this  is  the  earliest  sketch  I  have  seen 
of  an  antarctic  land. 

Le  Gentil :  Voyage  dans  les  Mers  de  I'lnde;  Paris,  de  I'lm- 
primerie  Royale  ;  Tome  Second,  MDCCLXXXI. ;  pages  482-498: 
"Article  XVIII;  Sur  les  Terres  Australes"  contains  "  Extrait  du 
journal  du  voyage  [du  premier  [lilote  du  vai.sseau  I'Aigle]  pour 
les  d(;couvertes  des  Terres  Australes,  dans  le  vaisseau  I'Aigle,  du 
30  D^cemljrc  173S  an  10  Janvier  1739":  (Bib.  Royale,  Bruxelles  ; 
Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Philadelphia).  According  to  A.  Rainaud  {Le 
Continent  Austral,  page  400)  the  pilot's  name  was  Gallo. 
M.  Rainaud  also  says  most  of  the  original  documents  about  the 
expedition  are  at  the  Service  Hyilrographiquc  de  la  Marine,  Paris. 

Burney:  A  Clironological  History,  etc.,  1817,  Vol.  V.,  pages 
30-37- 


BOUVET.  63 

to  lie  south  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.'"'  Bouvet 
commanded  the  frigate  "I'Aigle"  and  Monsieur  Hays 
the  frigate  "la  Marie."  They  left  Lorient  on  the  19th 
or  29th  of  July,  1738.  On  December  15th,  in  49° 
south  latitude,  they  began  to  see  great  bergs.  On 
January  ist,  1739,  (the  pilot  says  the  2d)  the  first 
pilot  of  the  "Aigle"  sighted,  about  3  o'clock  P.  M., 
a  high  land  covered  with  snow,  about  eight  leagues 
distant,  and  which  appeared  to  him  to  be  a  big 
headland.  Bouvet  presented  twenty  piastres  to  the 
pilot,  and  called  the  land  "Cap  de  la  Circoncision," 
in  memory  of  the  day.  The  land  seemed  to  be 
four  or  five  leagues  long  from  north  to  south,  and 
Bouvet  says  they  could  not  determine  whether  it  was 
a  headland  of  a  big  land,  or  only  an  island.  They 
charted  its  position  as  54°  south  latitude,  and  26° 
to   27°  of  longitude  east  of  Teneriffe. 

The  ships  beat  about  before  this  island  for  twelve 
days,  and  got  several  times  within  three  or  four 
leagues  of  the  land,  but  they  were  never  able  to 
reach  it  in  their  boats,  on  account  of  the  ice. 
Fogs  also  were  heavy  and  persistent,  and  further 
effort  seeming  useless,  after  the  nth  of  January  the 
ships  sailed  back  to  between  51°  and  52°  south 
latitude,   and   then    followed   this    parallel    eastward 

'™  It  has  been  suggested  that  de  Gonneville  reached  Madagascar, 
Bresil  or  even  Australia  ;  it  seems  most  probable,  however,  that 
his  landfall  was  on  Madagascar.  See  Burney :  A  Chronological 
History,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  pages  zn~2>79- 


64  ANTARCTICA. 

until  January  25th,  in  between  51°  and  55°  longitude 
east  of  Teneriffe.  They  were  always  on  the  edge 
of  the  pack,  and  saw  many  birds,  whales,  and  "sea 
wolves."  Bouvet  then  went  north  in  search  of  the 
place  where  Gonneville  landed. 

Bouvet's  discovery  was  doubted,  of  course,  by  some 
people.  Monsieur  Le  Gentil,  for  instance,  argues  that 
Bouvet  did  not  see  land  at  all,  but  only  icebergs.-'"' 
Nevertheless,  Bouvet  did  see  land  and  his  voyage 
was  the  first  definite  attempt  at  antarctic  exploration, 
the  honor  of  which,  therefore,  belongs  to  France. 

The  Spanish  ship  "Lyon"  or  "Leon"  left  Lima  for 
Cadiz  on  February  8,  1 756.  The  Sieur  Ducloz  Guyot  ^^° 
of  Saint  Malo,  who  was  on  board,  wrote  an  account 
of  the  voyage.  They  sailed  round  Cape  Hoorn.  On 
June  28th,  they  were  in  55°  10'  south  latitude,  52°  10' 
west  longitude  (?)  and  thought  they  saw  land.     On 

""In  the  Histoire  de  V Academic  Royale  dcs  Sciences,  Ann^e 
MDCCLXXVI.,  Paris,  M.DCCLXXIX.,  "  M6moircs"  etc.,  pages 
665-666,  and  in  the  same  Histoire,  etc.,  AnnCe  MDCCLXXIX., 
Paris,  MDCCLXXXII.,  pages  12-18,  are  three  short  memoirs  by- 
Monsieur  Le  Monnier,  in  which  he  shows  the  absurdity  of  the 
attacks  which  were  made  on  Bouvet. 

""  Dalrymple,  Alexander :  A  Collection  of  Voyages  thicfly  in 
tlie  Southern  Atlantick  Ocean,  jiublishcd  from  original  MSS.  ; 
London,  1775  :  "  E.xtrait  d'un  Journal  de  Navigation  pour  un 
voyage  de  la  mer  du  Sud,  fait  par  le  S.  Ducloz  Guyot  de  St. 
Malo,  dans  le  vaisscau  cspagnol  le  Lyon  en  1756"  :  (Kiin.  Ocf. 
Bib.  Dresden). 

Barney  :  A  Chronological  History,  etc.,  Vol.  V.,  pages  136-142. 


DUCLOZ    GUYOT.  65 

the  29th  "  at  about  9  A.  M.,  we  sighted  a  continent 
about  twenty-five  leagues  long  from  northeast  to 
southwest,  filled  with  steep  mountains  of  a  frightful 
aspect,  and  of  so  extraordinary  a  height,  that  we 
could  hardly  see  the  summits,  altho  more  than  six 
leagues  away."  "  Yesterday  Don  Domingo  Dortiz, 
Lieutenant  General  of  the  armies  of  His  Catholic  Ma- 
jesty, Count  of  the  Peoples  {Pett-piades)  and  President 
of  Chily,  died  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  [apres 
midy)  aged  eighty  years ;  and  at  ten  o'clock  this 
morning,  he  was  thrown  into  the  sea,  after  the  usual 
ceremonies.  The  Spaniards  saluted  him  with  seven 
'Long  live  the  King'  and  wished  him  very  respect- 
fully a  pleasant  journey  ;  lat.,  estimated,  54°  48',  long. 

51°  30'." 

On  July  I,  "  we  steered  to  the  eastward,  to  observe 
whether  the  said  land  stretched  further  in  that  part. 
About  8  o'clock  A.  M.  we  saw  its  most  easterly  point 
by  compass  to  the  north  5°  and  about  twelve  leagues 
off.  At  midday,  continuing  on  the  same  course,  we 
were  in  55°  23'  lat.  estimated,  and  51°  long."  On 
July  4,  they  again  thought  they  saw  land  in  54°  10' 
south  latitude,  but  they  were  not  sure.  The  rest 
of  the  narrative  tells  of  the  voyage  home,  and  how 
they  were  in  great  danger  from  heavy  storms  and 
were  nearly  lost,  and  at  this  time  they  vowed  one 
or  two  sails  to  "  Our  Lady  of  Sorrows."  But  the 
narrative  does  not  say  that  she  ever  got  them.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  the  land  the  "  Lyon "  sighted  was 


66  ANTARCTICA. 

South  Georgia,  and  it  is  noteworthy  how  much  the 
account  of  Guyot  resembles  that  of  Vespucci. 

Captain  Marion  du  Fresne  and  the  Chevalier  Du- 
clesmeur,"^  in  the  "  Mascarin  "  and  the  "  Marquis  de 
Castries,"  discovered  on  January'  13,  1772,  and  suc- 
ceeding days,  two  groups  of  small  islands  in  between 
46°  and  47°  south  latitude,  and  about  50°  30'  and  59° 
30'  east  longitude.  They  christened  them  Terre  d'Es- 
perance,  He  de  la  Caverne,  He  Froide,  and  He  Aride, 
but  they  are  now  known  as  the  Marion  Islands  and 
the  Crozet  Islands. 

Captain  Yves  J.  de  Kerguelen  Tremarec,"-  a  French 
naval  officer,  made  a  voyage  in  1 77 1  with  xh^  flutes  "  La 
Fortune"  and  "Le  Gros  Ventre."     On  February  12, 

'"  Nouveau  Voyage  d  la  Mer  du  Sud,  commence  sous  les  ordres 
de  M.  Marion  *  *  *  et  achev6  *  *  *  sous  ceux  de  M. 
le  Chevalier  Duclesmeur  *  *  *  d'aprSs  les  Plans  et  Journaux 
de  M.  Crozet;  Paris,  chez  Barrois  l'ain6,  M.DCC.LXXXIII. : 
(Amer.  Geog.  Soc.). 

Rochon,  Alexis,  membre  de  I'lnstitut  National  de  France: 
Voyages  d  Madagascar^  A  Maroc,  et  aux  Indes  Orientalcs ;  Paris, 
An  X  de  la  Republique  ;  Chez  Prault  et  Levrault ;  Tome  III., 
pages  325-327  :  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

'"  Kerguelen,  M.  de :  Relation  de  deux  voyages  dans  les  mers 
Australes  et  dcs  Indes,  fails  en  177 1,  1772,  1773  &  1774  *  *  * 
A  Paris,  chez  Knapen  &  fils,  M.DCC.LXXXIl. :  (Amer.  Geog. 
Soc.  and  British  Museum). 

J/istoire  de  r  Acadanie  royale  dcs  Sciences,  Annte 
MDCCLXXXVIII.,  Paris,  MDCCXCI.  ;  Mcmoires,  etc.,  pages 
487-503  : — Le  Paute  d'Agelet :  "  Observations  fiiites  dans  un  voy- 
age aux  Terres  Australes,  en  1773  &  1774":  (Amer.  Phil.  Soc). 


MARION,    KERGUELEN.  67 

1772,  he  sighted  a  small  island"^  in  50°  5'  south  lati- 
tude, 60°  west  longitude  (Paris).  On  February  13,  he 
discovered  a  much  larger  island,  in  49°  40'  south  lati- 
tude, 61°  10'  west  longitude  (Paris);  of  this  he  saw  at 
least  twenty-five  leagues  of  coast.  He  was  violently 
abused  on  his  return  home,  and  some  people  said :  ^'^ 
"in  short  that  I  had  seen  no  land,  but  only  a  cloud  and 
that  I  had  ordered  my  entire  crew  to  keep  silence 
under  penalty  of  their  life." 

Kerguelen  sailed  again  the  following  year  with  "le 
Roland,"  "I'Oiseau,"  Captain  Rosnevet,  and  "la  Dau- 
phine."  On  the  14th  of  December  1773,  he  resighted 
these  islands  and  stayed  about  them  until  January  18, 
1774."^  They  were  examined  more  carefully,  a  rough 
chart  made,  and  the  center  charted  as  in  49°  30'  south 
latitude,  68°  west  longitude  (Paris).  The  main  island 
was  called  Kerguelen  Island.  Some  of  the  expedition 
landed  on  it  on  January  6,  1775,  and  took  possession 

M.  d'Agelet  says  they  made  a  landing  (nous  atterdmes)  on  De- 
cember 14th,  and  another  on  January  6th:  the  first  on  the  west 
coast,  the  second  in  the  northwest  in  the  Baye  de  I'Oiseau.  He 
blames  Kerguelen,  according  to  the  usual  habit  of  mankind, 
for  not  doing  more  exploration.  M.  d'Agelet  also  mentions  an- 
other account,  which  I  have  not  seen,  of  this  journey:  "  M.  de 
Pages,  dans  ses  Poyages,  publics  en  1782,  donne  une  relation  de 
cette  expedition." 

Rochon,  Alexis:  Voyages  &  Madagascar,  etc.,  Tome  III., 
pages  308-312. 

"^Relation,  etc.,  pages  21-24. 

^^^  Relation,  etc.,  page  37. 

"''Relation,  etc.,  pages  61-82. 


68  ANTARCTICA. 

of  it  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  France :  the  shores 
were  ahve  with  antarctic  animals  and  birds.  Ker- 
guelen's  discovery  is  summed  up  in  the  following 
words:"''  "There  results  at  any  rate  from  the  labors 
of  M.  de  Kerguelen,  the  discovery  of  an  island  of 
about  two  hundred  leagues  in  circuit,  with  which  he 
has  enriched  geography,  and  which  the  poisoned  breath 
of  envy  will  never  be  able  to  wipe  off  from  the  ball  of 
the  earth." 

Lieutenant  James  Cook,  R.  N.,  on  a  voyage  round 
the  world  in  the  ship  "  Endeavour,"  went,  on  January 
30th,  1769,  between  the  meridians  of  74°  and  75°  west, 
to  just  beyond  60°  south  latitude.  When  approaching 
New  Zealand,  on  October  7th,  1769,  he  wrote:  "This 
land  became  the  subject  of  much  eager  conversation; 
but  the  general  opinion  seemed  to  be  that  we  had 
found  the  Terra  Australis  Incognita."  "' 

Captain  Cook,  on  his  second  voyage  round  the 
world,  searched  for  the  antarctic  continent,  whose  ex- 
istence, north  of  60°  south  latitude,  was  asserted  by 
Alexander  Dalrymple."*     Captain  Cook  conmianded 

^^^ Relation  etc. :  "  Extrait  des  Services  do  M.  de  Kerguelen" 
page  118. 

'"  Hawkesvvortli,  John:  An  Account  of  the  Voyages  undertaken 
by  the  order  of  his  present  majesty  for  making  discoveries  in  t/ie 
Southern  Hemisphere,  London,  MDCCLXXIII. :  (IJb.  Co. 
Philadelphia). 

""  In  the  iiitiddiiciion  to  one  of  his  books,  Alexander  Dalrymple 
{A  Historical  Collection    *     *     *    South  Pacific  Ocean,  London, 


COOK.  69 

the  "Resolution,"  and  Captain  Fiirneaux  commanded 
the  "Adventure."  "'•'  At  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  they 
found  the  Swedish  naturalist,  Dr.  Andre  Sparrman, 
and  invited  him  to  join    the  expedition.     From   the 

Vol.  I.,  MDCCLXX. :  Bil).  Nat.  Paris)  wrote  of  the  probability 
of  a  continent  extending  from  30°  south  latitude  to  the  pole,  and 
urged  that  e.xpeditions  of  discovery  be  sent.  When  Cook's  ex- 
jiedition  was  sent,  Dalrymple  ap[)ears  to  have  been  much  disap- 
pointed at  not  being  chosen  leader.  But  his  services  to  geog- 
raphy, in  helping  to  bring  about  the  search,  deserve  to  be 
remembered. 

'"  Cook,  James  :  A  Voyai^c  ioivards  the  South  Pole  and  Round 
the  World,  performed  in  His  Majesty's  Ships  the  "Resolution" 
and  "Adventure,"  in  the  years  1772,  1773,  1774  and  1775:  Second 
Edition,  London,  W.  Strahan  and  T.  Cadell,  MDCCLXXVII.  : 
(Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia). 

Journal  of  the  Resolution's  Voyage,  in  1772,  1773,  1774  and 
1775,  on  Discovery  of  the  Southern  Hemisphere,  by  which  the 
non  existence  of  an  undiscovered  Continent,  between  the  Equator 
and  the  50th  Degree  of  Southern  Latitude,  is  demonstrably 
proved:  Also  a  Journal  of  tlie  Adventure' s  Voyage,  in  the  years 
1772,  1773,  and  1774;  Dublin,  Caleb  Jenkin,  MDCCLXXVI.  : 
(Pub.  Lib.  New  York  City). 

Forster,  George,  F.  R.  S. :  A  Voyage  Round  the  World,  in  his 
Britannic  Majesty's  Ship  "Resolution,"  commanded  by  Captain 
James  Cook,  during  the  years  1772,  3,  4  and  5  ;  London,  B. 
White,  J.  Robson,  P.  Elmsley,  G.  Robinson,  MDCCLXXVII.  : 
(Kon.  Oef  Bib.  Dresden).  There  is  a  good  "A  Chart  of  the  South- 
ern Hemisphere"  in  the  first  volume  of  this  book  ;  the  only  ant- 
arctic lands  marked  are  Kerguelen  Island,  the  Marion  Islands, 
Sandwich  Land  and  South  Georgia. 

Sparrman,  Dr.  Andr6  :  Voyage  au  Cap  de  Bonne  Esperance 
et  Autour  du  Monde,  avec  Ic  Captaine  Cook;  Paris,  chez  Buisson, 
MDCCLXXXVII. 

Low,  Lieutenant  Charles  R.,  (H.  M.  Indian  Navy);  Captain 
Cook s  Three  Voyages  Round  the  World;  London,  George 
Routledge  and  Sons :   (Public  Lib.  Tacoma). 


yo  ANTARCTICA. 

Cape,  Cook  proceeded  south  and  east,  and  on  January 
17th,  1773,  crossed  the  Antarctic  Circle  in  39°  35' 
east  longitude,  and  reached  67°  15'  south  latitude. 
Here  he  was  stopped  by  a  pack  composed  of  field 
ice,  with  thirty-eight  ice  islands  in  sight.  He  turned 
northward,  and  later  southward.  On  the  23d  of  Feb- 
ruar)',  he  reached  61°  52'  south  latitude,  95°  2'  east 
longitude.  Here  there  were  so  many  ice  islands,  that 
he  gave  up  attempting  to  cross  the  Antartic  Circle, 
and  continued  on  an  eastward  course  until,  on  March 
17th,  he  reached  59''  7'  south  latitude,  146°  53'  east 
longitude,  when  he  bore  away  north. 

In  December  1773,  Cook  again  went  south,  and  on 
December  22d,  reached  67°  31'  south  latitude,  142° 
54'  west  longitude,  where  he  was  stopped  by  the 
pack.  On  January  30th,  1774,  he  reached  71°  10' 
south  latitude,  106°  54'  west  longitude,  where  a  great 
ice  field,  in  which  ninety-seven  ice  hills  were  in  sight, 
blocked  further  progress.  Cook  did  not  suggest  that 
any  land  was  in  sight,  in  fact  he  says  :  ™  "As  we  drew 
near  this  ice  some  penguins  were  heard,  but  none 
seen  ;  and  but  few  other  birds,  or  any  other  thing  that 
could  induce  us  to  think  any  land  was  near.  And  yet 
I  think  there  must  be  some  land  to  the  south  behind 
this  ice." '-'     He   then   went  in  search   of  the  Terra 

""  A  Voyage,  etc. ,  Vol.  I. ,  page  268. 

"1  Nevertheless  two  writers.  Sir  J.  C.  Ross  and  Mr.  C.  E. 
Borchgreviiik,  mention  Captain  Cook  as  having  perhaps  discov- 
ered the  Antarctic  Continent  at  this  time. 


COOK.  7 1 

Australis  Incognita  that  Juan  Fernandez  was  said  to 
have  discovered. 

In  January  1775,  Cook  went  south  from  Staaten 
Land,  and  Forster  states '^^  that  they  steered  in  search 
of  the  land  reported  by  La  Roche  in  1675,  and  by 
Ducloz  Guyot  in  1756.  On  January  14th,  in  53°  56' 
south  latitude,  39°  24'  west  longitude,  Cook  arrived  at 
the  land,  which  was  discovered,  perhaps  by  Amerigo 
Vespucci,  certainly  by  La  Roche,  and  which  was  seen 
by  the  Spanish  ship  "Lyon."  It  lies  between  53°  57' 
and  54°  57'  south  latitude,  and  38°  13'  and  35°  34' 
west  longitude.  Cook  spent  several  days  there  and  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  elder  Forster,^^  re-named  it  the 
Isle  of  Georgia.  He  then  stood  eastward  again,  and 
on  January  31st,  discovered  Sandwich  Land  in  59° 
south  latitude,  27°  west  longitude,  and  on  the  same 
day  another  coast  in  59°  13'  south  latitude,  27°  45' 
west  longitude,  which  was  named  Southern  Thule. 
On  February  ist,  he  sighted  Cape  Montagu,  and  on 
the  3d,  in  57°  11'  south  latitude,  27°  6'  west  longi- 
tude, two  islands,  which  he  called  the  Candlemas  Isles. 
After  a  vain  search  for  Bouvet  Island,  he  returned  to 
the  Cape. 

This  voyage  of  Cook  was  the  first  circumnavigation 
of  the  south  polar  regions,  and  really  closes  the  first 
period  of  antarctic  discovery,  because  it  did  away  with 

'"A   Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.  II.,  page  524. 
"'y4  Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.  II.,  page  525. 


72  ANTARCTICA. 

the  legendary  belief  in  a  great  Terra  Australia  Incog- 
nita north  of  60°  south  latitude.^"*  In  a  certain  sense 
the  outcome  was  negative,  in  that  Antarctica  was  not 
discovered,  a  fact  which  would  seem  to  rank  the  voy- 
age of  Cook  as  of  much  less  importance  than  the 
voyage  of  Wilkes.  With  that  single  exception,  how- 
ever, perhaps  no  one  achieved  such  great  geograph- 
ical results  in  the  south  polar  regions  as  Cook,  and 
it  is  possibly  not  going  too  far  to  assign  him  the 
second  place  among  antarctic  explorers.^ 

"*Capitaine,  Ls. :  Atlas  El'ementaire,  Paris,  1793:  (Kon.  Oef. 
Bib.  Dresden).  Map  No.  i,  "  Mappemonde  "  shows  no  antarctic 
land,  except  the  Cap  de  la  Circoncision,  altho  on  both  hemi- 
spheres beyond  60°  is  marked  "  Terres  Australes." 

Many  of  the  maps,  however,  from  the  time  of  Cook  until  re- 
cently, mark  ' '  Antarctic  Ocean  ' '  across  the  regions  of  the  South 
Pole.  This  is,  for  instance,  the  case  in  The  Student's  Atlas,  by 
William  Hughes,  London,  about  1880. 

'"  Professor  Gregory  ( The  Popular  Science  Monthly,  New 
York,  1902,  Vol.  LX.,  pages  209-217: — Professor  J.  W.  Greg- 
ory: "Antarctic  Exploration")  says:  "Cook's  voyage  was 
brilliantly  successful  and  still  ranks  as  tlie  greatest  of  Antarctic 
achievements." 


II. 

VOYAGES   UP   TO   AND    INCLUDING  THE    DISCOVERY    OF 
THE  CONTINENT   OK  ANTARCTICA. 

The  second  period  of  antarctic  discovery  may  be 
looked  on  as  beginning  after  the  voyage  which  finally 
did  away  with  the  belief  in  the  legendary  "Terra 
Australis  "  north  of  60°  south  latitude  and  as  ending 
with  the  discovery  by  Charles  Wilkes,  that  after  all 
there  is  a  great  antarctic  land,  even  if  it  is  smaller 
than  the   land  of  lecfend. 

Captain  James  Cook'-"  inaugurated  the  second 
period  on  his  thinl  voyage  round  the  world.  On 
December  12th,  1776,  he  sighted  the  Marion  and  the 
Crozet  Islands,  and  on  December  24th,  Kerguelen 
Island,  landing  there  on  December  25th,  in  "Christ- 
mas Harbor,"  and  staying  near  the  island  until  De- 
cember 30th. 

Captain  Marchand  touched  60°  south  latitude  in  his 
voyage  round  the  world. '^' 

"*  Cook,  Captain  James  :  y4  Voyage  to  Ihe  Pacific  Ocean  *  *  * 
in  the  years  1776,  1777,  1778,  1779,  and  1780:  London, 
MDCCLXXXIV.,  Vol.  I.,  pages  52-55:  (Lib.  Co.,  Phila- 
delphia). 

'"  Marchand,  Etienne  :  Voyage  autoiir  du  Monde  pendant  les 
annees  ijgo,  ijgr,  el  i'^g2  ;  Paris,  Imprimerie  de  la  Republique, 
An  VI.  :  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dresden). 

(73) 


74  ANTARCTICA. 

In  1794,  the  Spanish  corvette  "  Atrevida  "  was  sent  to 
survey  the  Aurora  Islands,  which  were  discovered,  it 
was  said,  in  1762,  by  the  ship  "  Aurora."  ^^  In  1769,  the 
ship  "  San  Miguel  "  saw  some  islands,  which  it  was  sus- 
pected were  the  Auroras.  In  1774,  the  ship  "  Aurora" 
again  reported  them.  Three  other  vessels,  the  "  Pearl " 
in  1 779,  and  the  "Dolores " and  the  " Princess"  in  1 790, 
also  are  said  to  have  seen  these  islands.  The  "  Atre- 
vida "  went  purposely  to  situate  them  and  reported  that 
the  islands  were  three  in  number ;  and  that  the  south- 
ernmost was  in  53°  15'  south  latitude,  47°  57'  west 
longitude;  the  second  in  53°  2'  south  latitude,  47°  55' 
west  longitude  ;  and  the  third  in  52°  2,7'  south  lati- 
tude, 47°  43'  west  longitude.  The  Spanish  officers, 
however,  said  that  none  of  the  circumstances  con- 
nected witli  the  islands  which  they  saw,  agreed  with 
those  reported  of  the  Auroras.  ^-"•' 

Captain  Rhodes'-'"  in  1799,  commanding  the  ship 
"  Hillsborough,"  spent  eiglit  months  on  the  north  coast 
of  Kerguelen  Island. 

""This  account  is  compiled  from  Captain  James  Wcddell's 
A  Voyage  towards  the  Soulh  Pole,  pages  61-67,  '"  wliicli  Weddell 
quotes  the  publications  of  the  Koyat  Hydrogmpliicat  Society  of 
Madrid,  1809,  Mevioria  Segunda,  iorno  1°,  pa,y:cs  51,  52,  and 
appendix  to  same,  Vol.  I.,  page  213,  Number  IV. 

^'^'' ScG  post,  pages  100,  107,  no. 

"°Z>r.  A.  Pctcrmann's  Mittlteitimgcn,  etc.,  Gotha,  1858,  pages 
ly-^j: — A.  Petermann  :  "  Die  Sogenannten  '  Konig-Max-lnseln,' 
Kerguelen,  .St.  Paul,  Neu-Amsterdam,  u.  s.  w.,". 


THE    "ATREVIDA,      SWAIN,    MACY.  75 

Captain  Swain,  in  1800,  was  the  first  American 
to  make  an  antarctic  discovery:"'  "Swain's  Island, 
latitude  59°  30'  south,  longitude  icxD°  west  by  calcula- 
tion, discovered  by  Captain  Swain,  of  Nantucket,  in 
iScxD.  Resorted  to  by  many  seals."  There  is  also 
another  account*''-  of  this  event :  "  Captain  Swain, 
while  passing  from  Sandwich  Islands  to  Cape  Horn, 
ran  farther  south  than  usual  for  whale  ships,  and 
discovered  an  island  in  latitude  59°  south,  and  longi- 
tude 90°  west,  covered  with  snow,  and  abounding  with 
sea-dogs  and  fowl.  This  must  be  the  same  island 
discovered  by  Captain  Macy,  an  account  of  which  is 
given  before."  The  account  of  the  discovery  made 
by  Captain  Richard  Macy,  of  Nantucket,  which  ap- 
pears to  have  taken  place  a  few  years  after  Swain's, 
is  as  follows  :  '"■''  "  Captain  Macy  discovered  an  island 
four  or  five  miles  in  extent,  in  south  latitude  59°,  and 
west  longitude  91°,  his  ship  passing  near  enough  to 
see    the    breakers.      The    island  abounded  with    sea 

'"  Fanning,  Edmund :  Voyages  Round  the  World ;  with  selected 
sketches  of  Voyages  to  the  South  Seas,  North  and  South  Pacific 
Ocea7ts,  China,  etc.,  between  the  years  1792  and  1832:  New  York, 
Collins  &  Hannay,  MDCCCXXXIII.,  page  447:  (Pub.  Lib. 
Boston ;  Harvard  Univ.  Lib. ;  Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia :  Amer. 
Geog.  Soc). 

'"  Reynolds,  J.  N.  :  Address  on  the  subject  of  a  surveying  and 
exploring  expedition  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  arid  South  Seas ;  de- 
livered in  the  Hall  of  Representatives  on  the  evening  of  April  3, 
1836;  New  York,  Harper  and  Brothers,  1836,  page  224:  (Har- 
vard Univ.  Lib.  ;     Amer.  Phil.  Soc. ;     Geog.  Soc.  Philadelphia). 

^^  Address,  etc.,  page  216. 


76  ANTARCTICA. 

dogs,  or  seals,  and  the  water  was  much  coloured,  and 
thick  with  rock-weed."^** 

This  island  does  not  appear  to  be  charted.  It  is 
perhaps  the  one  now  known  as  "  Dougherty  Island  "^^ 
as  the  latitudes  correspond,  and  sealing  captains, 
owing  to  the  lack  of  instruments,  may  easily  have 
made  errors  in  their  longitude. 

Mr.  James  Lindsay,"^  master  of  the  "  Snow  Swan," 
and  Mr.  James  Hopper,  master  of  the  "Otter," 
English  whaling  vessels,  sighted  Bouvet  Island  in 
1808,  the  former  on  October  6th,  the  latter  on 
October  loth.  They  recognized  the  Cap  de  la  Cir- 
concision,  but  could  not  land,  on  account  of  fogs  and 
ice.  The  island  was  determined  to  be  in  54°  15' 
south  latitude,  4°  15'  east  longitude. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  181 2,  Mr.  Edmund  Fan- 
ning"^ was  appointed  commander  of  an  American  dis- 
covery expedition,  to  consist  of  the  ships  "Volunteer" 

"*  See  also  :  Executive  Documents,  2jd  Cotigress,  2d  Session, 
Doc.  No.  5/  January  27,  1835  :  "A  report  of  J.  N.  Reynolds, 
in  relation  to  islands,  reefs,  and  shoals  in  the  Pacific  Ocean"  etc. 
(dated)  New  York,  September  24,  1828:  (Lib.  Co.,  Philadelphia). 

^^S^^  post,  pages  185,  186. 

"*Burncy:  A  Chronological  History,  etc.,  Vol.  V.,  pages 
35-37- 

'"  Voyages,  etc.,  pages  492-494. 

Executive   Docnmenls,  26th  Congress,    ist  .Session,    1S39-40, 
Vol.  II.,  Doc.  No.  57  :   "  Memorial  of  Edmund  hauning." 


LINDSAY,    HOPPER,    FANNING,    SMITH.  77 

and  "  Hope,"  intenderl  for  the  exploration  of  the  south- 
ern hemisphere  and  a  voyage  round  the  world.  The 
expedition  was  on  the  point  of  sailing,  when,  owing 
to  the  breaking  out  of  war,  it  was  given  up.  About 
this  time,  however,  it  is  barely  possible  that  West 
Antarctica  was  rediscovered.  Dr.  Fricker"^  says:  "At 
all  events,  probability  points  that  way,  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  English  hydrographer,  James  Horsburgh,'^^ 
told  the  German  geographer,  Heinrich  Berghaus,  that 
the  island  group  had  been  a  station  for  American 
seal  hunters  since  181 2.  The  motive  for  keeping  its 
existence  secret  was  the  desire  to  retain  the  sole  use 
of  the  station  for  their  own  profit."  It  would  seem 
probable  that  Mr.  Horsburgh's  information  was  in- 
correct, since  Fanning  says  nothing  of  the  matter. 
Still,  further  evidence  may  yet  be  found. 

Mr.  William  Smith, ""  master  of  the  brig  "  Williams  " 
of  Blythe,  took  an  unusually  southern  course  round 

1S8  Pricker,  Dr.  Karl :  The  Aiitarctic  Regions,  London,  Swan 
Sonnenschein  &  Co.  ;  New  York,  The  Macmillan  Company, 
1900,  page  47.  A  translation  of  Antarktis,  Bibliotliek  der  Lan- 
dcrkimde,  Berlin,  Schall  &  Grund,  1898. 

. '"  Mr.  Horsburgh  does  not  mention  this  matter  in  what  seems 
to  be  his  only  paper  about  the  Antarctic  :  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions of  the  Royal  Society  of  Lotidon,  MDCCCXXX,  pages 
1 17-120  : — Horsburgh,  Captain  James  :  "  VII.  Remarks  on  sev- 
eral icebergs  which  have  been  met  with  in  unusually  low  latitudes 
in  the  southern  hemisphere." 

'"'  The  Edinburgh  Philosophical  fouryial.  Vol.  III.,  Edin- 
burgh,  1820:  pages  367-380,    Art.  xxi.,    "  Account  of  the  Dis- 


78  ANTARCTICA. 

Cape  Hoorn  in  February  1819.  Apparently  by  ac- 
cident, on  February  19th,  he  sighted  some  islands  in 
62°  17'  south  latitude,  60°  12'  west  longitude.  On 
October  15th  following,  he  reached  the  same  islands 
and  this  time  examined  them  more  carefully,  christen- 
ing several  of  them  and  calling  the  whole  group  New 
South  Shetland.  He  thought  he  could  distineuish 
through  the  telescope  trees  similar  to  the  Norway 
pine.  Mr.  Smith  appears  to  have  gathered  the 
impression  that  the  Shetlands  were  a  more  or  less 
connected  mass  of  land,  in  fact  he  speaks  of  some 
of  them  as  the  mainland.  His  chart,  however,  shows 
that  he  was  always  north  of  the  Shetlands. 

Captain  James  P.  Sheffield"^  and  Supercargo  Will- 
iam A.  Fanning  sailed  in  the  brip-  "Hersilia"  of  Ston- 
ington,  in  July  1819,  on  an  exploring  and  sealing 
voyage.  This  was  due  to  the  initiative  of  Mr.  Ed- 
mund Fanning.  He  had  read  the  account  of  Ger- 
ritsz's  discovery  of  land  at  the  south  of  Cape  I  loorn, 
and  liad  seen  also  the  breaking  up  of  the  winter  ice 
at  Soutli  Georgia  and  had   noticed    that    ice    islands 

covery  of  New  South  Shetland,  with  observations  on  its  import- 
ance in  a  Geographical,  Commercial  and  Political  point  of  view  ; 
with  two  Plates:"  by  Mr.  J.  Miers :  communicated  by  Mr. 
Hodgskin:     (Amer.   Phil.  Soc). 

Neue  Allgcmcine  Gcographische  EpJiemeridcn,  Weimar,  VIII., 
1820;  pages  81-83:  "Das  neue  Antarktische  Continent  oder 
New  Schottland":     (Bib.  Nat.  Paris). 

"'  Fanning,  Edmund :  Voyages  Round  the  H'or/d,  etc.,  pages 
428-434. 


FANNING,    SHEFFIELD.  79 

came  floating  there  after  west-south-west  gales  :  he 
believed,  therefore,  that  there  was  land  in  that  quar- 
ter, and  this  was  the  inducement  for  the  search.  On 
the  return  of  the  "  Hersilia,"  Sheffield  and  Fanning 
reported  that  they  had  seen  the  Aurora  Islands,  and 
then  proceeded  south,  and  that  in  about  63°  south 
latitude,  in  February  1820,  they  had  found  several 
islands.  One  they  called  Mount  Pisgah  Island,  others 
Fanning's  Islands,  and  another  Ragged  Island,  on 
which  they  effected  a  landing  at  Hersilia  Cove,  the 
second  recorded  landing  in  Antarctica.  They  did  not 
rename  the  group,  believing  it  was  Gerritsz  Land. 
They  captured  many  seals  and  this  voyage  was  the 
forerunner  of  those  which  resulted  in  the  extermina- 
tion of  the  antarctic  fur  seal. 

Mr.  Edward  Bransfield,  R.  N.,"-  sailed  from  Valpa- 
raiso on  December  20th,  1819,  in  the  brig  "Williams," 


^*' Journal  des  voyages,  dicouveries  et  navigations  modernes, 
par  J.  T.  Verneur,  Tome  Dixieme,  Paris,  Colnet,  1821,  pages 
5-24:  "  Relation  de  la  decouverte  de  la  nouvelle  Shetland  m6r- 
idionale  ;  avec  des  remarques  sur  I'importance  de  cette  d6couverte 
sous  les  rapports  g^ographiques,  commerciaux  et  politiques  ;  Par 
J.  Miers;  conimuniciue  par  H.  Hodgskin":  (Bib.  Nat.  Paris).  This 
paper,  dated  Valparaiso,  January  1820,  states  that  Dr.  Young,  who 
accompanied  Bransfield,  and  who  apparently  furnished  the  data 
for  the  paper,  was  the  second  surgeon  of  the  English  sloop  of  war 
"Slaney."  The  writer  makes  some  remarks  as  to  whether  South 
Shetland  is  a  big  i.sland  or  part  of  a  continent  and  he  concludes 
(page  23):  "Des  recherches  r6centes  ont  fait  connaitre  que  les 
montagnes  de  glace  tirent  toujours  leur  origine  de  terres  limitrophes. 
Entre  les  m6ridiens  de  40°  et  60°  O.,  les  montagnes  de  glace  ne 


8o  ANTARCTICA. 

to  examine  Mr.  Smith's  newly  found  islands.  He 
reached  the  Shetlands  on  January  i6th,  1820,  in  62° 
26'  south  latitude  and  60°  54'  west  longitude.  Three 
days  afterwards,  about  two  degrees  more  to  the  east- 
ward, he  anchored  in  an  extensive  bay  and  was  able 
to  land,  apparently  the  first  time  any  one  did  so  in 
Antarctica.  He  found  also  some  stunted  orrass, 
and  this  seems  to  be  the  first  time  vegetation  was 
noticed  in  Antarctica.  Like  Mr.  Smith,  Bransfield 
appears  to  have  considered  the  Shetlands  as  a  more 
or  less  connected  mass  of  land,  for  Dr.  Young's  (?) 
involved  account  speaks  of  them  as  a  line  of  coast 
which  "appeared  high,  bold  and  rugged."      He  says 

paraissent  partout  qu'a  un  degr6  de  latitude  un  peu  inferieur,  d'ou 
nous  pouvons  coiiclure,  qu'entre  ces  m^ridiens,  il  existe  au  sud, 
une  6tendue  de  pays  considerable  ;  et  nous  croyons,  d'apres  cela, 
pouvoir  regarder  commc  certain  que  la  nouvelle  Shetland  m6ridi- 
onale  et  le  pays  de  Sandwich  forment  les  avances  d'un  immense 
continent."  The  paper  is  interesting,  because  it  is  one  of  the 
first  attempts  to  give  reasonable  grounds  for  the  possible  existence 
of  an  Antarctic  Continent.  It  would  seem  also  to  show  that 
Bransfield  did  not  sight  any  part  of  the  mainland  of  West  Ant- 
arctica, as  otherwise  the  writer  of  this  paper  would  have  made 
some  mention,  apparently,  of  seeing  land  near  their  most  south- 
em  point. 

The  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal,  Vol.  IV.,  Edinburgh, 
1821,  pages  345-348,  Art.  XVII.,  "Notice  of  the  Voyage  of 
Edward  Ikansfield,  Master  of  His  Majesty's  Ship  Andromache,  to 
New  South  .Shetland  "  :  (Amer.  Phil.  Soc).  This  paper  is  signed 
"  H.  M.  S.  Slaney  "  and  I  supposed  at  first  that  that  was  the 
name  of  the  writer,  and  used  it  thus  in  The  Journal  0/  the  Frank- 
lin Institute,  Vi:>\.  CLI.,  1901,  page  255.  Dr.  Hugh  Robert  Mill 
{T/i£  Antarctic  Maiiual,  London,  1901,  page  529:  "Bibli- 
ography of  Antarctic   Exploration  and   Research  ")   made  the 


BRANSFIELD.  8 1 

further  that  the  land  was  traced  nine  or  ten  degrees 
east  and  west  and  about  three  degrees  north  and 
south,  and  that  they  could  not  ascertain  whether  it 
was  part  of  a  continent  or  only  a  group  of  islands. 
"  If  it  is  insular,  there  must  be  some  of  an  immense 
extent,  as  we  found  a  gulf  nearly  1 50  miles  in  depth, 
out  of  which  we  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  our 
way  back  again." 

According  to  the  English  Admiralty  charts,  Nos. 
1238  and  1240,  Bransfield's  course  must  have  been 
north  of  the  Shetlands,  then  eastward,  then  south- 
ward, along  about  the  meridian  of  52°  30'  west  longi- 
tude, to  about  64°  30'  south  latitude,  and  this  cruise 
is  probably  what  Dr.  Young  refers  to  as  a  "  gulf" 
From  his  position,  therefore,  Bransfield  may  have 
sighted  Joinville  Island,  or  even  one  of  the  peaks  of 
the  mainland,'^''  but  this  at  present  is  uncertain.  The 
broad  strait  between  South  Shetland  and  Palmer 
Land  or  Archipelago  is  universally  known  as  "Brans- 
field  Strait."  I  have  found  no  record  saying  by  whom 
or  when  this  name  was  given. 

same  mistake  and  atu-ibuted  this  paper  to  "  [Slansy,  H.  M.  S.]  " 
The  paper  published  in  the  Journal  des  Voyages,  etc.,  however, 
shows  that  the  author  was  Dr.  Young,  of  "His  Majesty's  Ship 
Slaney."  It  is  certainly  an  original  mode  of  publication  to 
sign  a  paper,  without  further  explanation,  by  the  name  of  a  boat. 
Neiu  Allgenieijie  Geograpkisc/ie  Epkemeriden,  Weimar,  VIII., 
1820,  pages  490-493:  "Weilere  und  neueste  nachrichten  von 
dem  neuentdeckten  Antarktischen  Lande." 

"'From  a  statement  in  D'Urville's  Voyage  au  Pole  Sud,  etc., 
Vol.  II.,  page  II,  it  seems  as  if  this  inference  may  be  correct. 


82  ANTARCTICA. 

Captain  Fabian  Gottlieb  von  Bellingshausen,'"  in 
the  "Vostok"  (the  Orient),  and  Captain  Lazarew,  in 
the  "Mirny"  (the  Pacific),  in  1819-1821,  led  a  Rus- 
sian expedition  to  the  Antarctic,  of  which  they  made 
the  second  circumnavigation.  They  left  Kronstadt  in 
18 19,  and  in  December  sailed  along  the  south  coast  of 
South  Georgia.  On  January  3d  and  4th,  1820,  they 
discovered  the   Traversey    Islands,  in    56°  41'  south 

D'Urville  says  of  Bransfield  :  "  D'apres  cette  carte,  il  aurait 
meme  apergu,  dans  le  sud  de  1'  lie  Bridgman,  une  haute  montagne 
couverte  de  neige,  par  63°  20'  latitude  S.  et  59"  38'  longitude  O. 
environ."  The  map  here  referred  to  I  have  not  seen.  D'Urville 
says  that  it  is  one  of  New  South  Shetland  by  Laurie  and  that  it 
gives  Bransfield' s  route:  it  is  therefore  evidently  not  Powell's 
chart.  The  date  of  this  map  is  not  given  by  D'  Urville  and  it 
may  antedate  Powell's  chart,  but  it  seems  most  probable  that  it 
was  published  after  1824,  since  D'Urville  speaks  also  (page  24) 
of  Laurie's  map  as  giving  indications  about  a  Captain  Hoseason 
in  1824. 

'"Bellingshausen's  narrative  has  been  published  in  full  only  in 
Russian :  Dwukratnya  isiskania  tju  Jujnovi  Lcdoivilom  Okcanje 
i  plawayiie  woknig  swjcla,  &c. ;  St.  Petersburg,  1831 :  (Justus 
Perthes'  Geographischer  Anstalt,  Gotha).  In  the  atlas  are  wood- 
cuts of  Peter  L  Island,  and  Alexander  Land. 

Simonow,  Iwan  :  Beschrcibung  eincr  ncuen  Etiideckungsreise 
in  das  s'udliche  Eismcer  ;  Aus  dem  Russischen  ubersetzt  von  M. 
Banyi  ;  Wien,  J.  B.  Wallishausscr,  1824:  (Kon.  Oef.  Bib.  Dres- 
den).    Simonow  was  the  astronomer  of  the  expedition. 

Bibliotheque  Univcrselle  dcs  Voyages,  par  M.  Albert  Mont6- 
mont,  Paris  MDCCCXXXIV.  ;  Tome  XXL,  pages  431-448: 
"  Bellingshausen"  :  (Amer.   Geog.  Soc). 

Archiv  f'lir  tvissenschaftlichc  Kundc  von  Russland,  A  Eiman, 
Bcriin,  1842,  Vol.  II. ,  pages  125-175  : — Lowe,  F. :  "  Iklliugshaus- 
ens  Reise  nach  der  Sudsee  und  Entdeckungon  ini  Siidlichcn 
Eismeer":  (Lib.  of  Congress). 


BELLINGSHAUSEN,    LAZAREW.  83 

latitude,  28°  9'  west  longitude.  On  the  8th,  they 
determined  that  the  Candlemas  Isles  were  small 
islands  and  not  a  coast.  They  then  sailed  south 
and  east.  On  January  2Sth,  Bellingshausen  reached 
69°  21'  south  latitude,  2°  15'  west  longitude,  and  on 
February  2d,  66°  25'  south  latitude,  1°  11'  west 
longitude,  at  both  of  which  positions  he  was  stopped 
by  the  pack.  He  then  steered  eastward,  and  on 
February  17th  reached  69°  6'  south  latitude,  and  on 
the  19th,  68°  5'  south  latitude,  16°  37'  east  longitude. 
Later,  he  reached  66°  53'  south  latitude,  40°  56'  east 
longitude,  where  he  thought  land  must  be  near,  on 
account  of  the  numbers  of  birds. 

The  following  southern  summer,  Bellingshausen 
started  from  Sydney  and  sailed  south  and  east.  Mr. 
Montemont  says:  "On  the  nth  of  January,  1821, 
we  discovered,  in  69°  30'  south  latitude,  an  island, 
which  we  named  in  honor  of  the  founder  of  our 
navy,  Peter  I.  Island.  The  17th  of  the  same 
month,  we  discovered  a  coast  in  the  same  latitude, 
to  which,  in  honor  of  the  sponsor  of  our  journey, 
we  gave  the  name  of  Alexander  I.  The  lands  are 
surrounded  with  ice,  which  prevented  us  from  ap- 
proaching them  and  examining  them  near  by.  The 
discovery  of  these  two  islands  is  moreover  remark- 
able in  that  of  all  these  lands  they  are  the  most  south- 
erly which  have  yet  been  discovered  in  this  hemi- 
sphere." Herr  Lowe  adds:  "The  sudden  change  in 
the  color  of  the  water  led  Captain  Bellingshausen  to 


84  ANTARCTICA. 

believe  that  this  [Alexander]  land  must  be  of  con- 
siderable size."  Simonow  writes:  "  Both  islands  are 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  ice.  *  *  *  If  there- 
fore the  coast  of  Alexander  Land  is  not  the  point 
of  a  dry  land,  then  must  I  confirm  the  words  of 
Cook  and  also  say  that  we  saw  no  trace  of  the 
supposed  polar  land,  unless  there  was  one  beyond 
the  limits  of  our  vision,  where  however  the  eternal 
and  impenetrable  ice  has  placed  a  bar  to  naviga- 
tion." The  testimony  is  somewhat  conflicting,  as  to 
whether  Alexander  Land  is  a  part  of  a  great  land 
or  only  an  island :  if  it  is  the  former,  Bellings- 
hausen may  have  been  the  first  to  sight  the  main- 
land of  West  Antarctica,  but  this  must  remain  an 
open  question  for  the  present."^ 

From  Alexander  Land,  Bellinofshausen  sailed  to  the 
Shetlands,  to  which  he  gave  Russian  or  Napoleonic 
names:  Borodino,  Smolensk,  Leipzig,  Waterloo  (James 
Island),  Mordwinow  (Elephant  Island),  etc.,  and  where 
Simonow  says  they  met  over  fifty  Amtrican  and  Eng- 

"' According  to  Dr.  F.  A.  Cook  {Bulhiin  America7i  Geo- 
graphical Society,  Vol.  XXXni.,  1901,  paj^es  36-41  ;  "Captain 
Fabian  Gottlieb  von  Bellingshausen")  it  is  probable  that  Alexan- 
der Land  is  an  island  group.  Dr.  Cook  quotes  from  his  own 
log  as  follows  :  "The  vast  number  of  icebergs  to  the  eastward 
of  the  land  gave  it  also,  from  a  greater  distance,  the  .ippearance 
of  being  connected  with  some  larger  land  ;  but  from  our  various 
positions  wc  were  able  to  make  out  distinctly  that  the  islands  are 
a  separate  grou]),  with  no  other  land  in  sight  to  the  east."  This 
would  seem  to  show  that  Bellingshausen  was  not  the  fust  to  sight 
the  mainland  of  West  Antarctica. 


BELLINGSHAUSEN,    LAZAREW,    PALMER.  85 

lish  ships.  One  of  these  was  the  "  Hero,"  commanded 
by  Nathaniel  B.  Palmer."''  Bellingshausen  then  re- 
turned to  Russia,  passing  South  Georgia  on  his 
homeward    route. 

Bellingshausen's  voyage  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant, for  he  narrowed  considerably  the  unexplored 
regions  of  the  South  Pole,  and  crossed  six  times 
the  Antarctic  Circle,  within  which  he  sailed  long 
distances. 

Captain  Nathaniel  B.  Palmer,"'  an  American  seal- 
ing captain,  comes  next  in  chronological  order ;  and 
I  quote  his  first  two  voyages  in  full,  because  of  their 
importance  in  the  history  of  antarctic  discovery. 

"  The  next  season  after  the  Hersilia's  return  from 
the  South  Shetlands,  a  fleet  of  vessels,  consisting  of 
the  brig  Frederick,  Captain  Benjamin  Pendleton  the 
senior  commander ;  the  brig  Hersilia,  Captain  James 
P.  Sheffield,  schooners  Express,  Captain  E.  Williams, 
Free   Gift,    Captain    F.    Dunbar,    and    sloop    Hero, 

"'  Mr.  Henryk  Arctowski,  an  accurate  observer  and  writer,  who 
has  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  read  Russian,  says  {The 
Geographical  Journal,  London,  1901,  Vol.  XVIII.,  pages  353— 
394 :  ' '  The  Antarctic  voyage  of  the  '  Belgica '  during  the  years 
1897,  1S98,  and  1899"):  "This  meeting  was  also  described  by 
Bellingshausen  himself,  as  can  easily  be  seen  by  consulting  the 
remarkable,  but  still  little  known  work  of  that  eminent  Russian 
explorer  {Dwukratnyja,  etc.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  263,  264)." 

"'Fanning,  Edmund:  Voyages  Round  the  World,  etc.,  pages 
434-440. 


86  ANTARCTICA. 

Captain  N.  B.  Palmer,  was  fitted  out  at  Stonington, 
Connecticut,  on  a  voyage  to  the  South  Shetlands. 
From  Captain  Pendleton's  report,  as  rendered  on 
their  return,  it  appeared  that  while  the  fleet  lay  at 
anchor  in  Yankee  Harbor,  Deception  Island,  during 
the  season  of  1820  and  21,  being  on  the  lookout 
from  an  elevated  station,  on  the  mountain  of  the 
island  during  a  very  clear  day  he  had  discovered 
mountains  (one  a  volcano  in  operation)  in  the  south  ; 
this  was  what  is  now  known  by  the  name  of 
Palmer's  Land ;  from  the  statement  it  will  be  per- 
ceived how  this  name  came  deservedly  to  be  given 
to  it,  and  by  which  it  is  now  current  in  the  modern 
charts.  To  examine  this  newly  discovered  land, 
Captain  N.  B.  Palmer,  in  the  sloop  Hero,  a  vessel 
but  little  rising  forty  tons,  was  despatched ;  he  found 
it  to  be  an  extensive  mountainous  countrj',  more 
sterile  and  dismal  if  possible,  and  more  heavily  loaded 
with  ice  and  snow,  than  the  South  Shetlands  ;  there 
were  sea  leopards  on  its  shore,  but  no  fur  seals  ;  the 
main  part  of  its  coast  was  ice  bound,  although  it 
was  in  the  midsummer  of  this  hemisphere,  and  a 
landing  consequently  difficult. 

"On  the  Hero's  return  passage  to  Yankee  Har- 
bor she  got  becalmed  in  a  thick  fog  between  the 
South  Shetlands  and  the  newly-discovered  conti- 
nent, but  nearest  the  former.  When  this  began  to 
clear  away,  Captain  Palmer  was  surprised  to  find 
his   litth;   barque  between  a  frigate  and  sloop  of  war, 


PALMER.  87 

and  instantly  run  up  the  United  States'  flag  ;  the 
frigate  and  sloop  of  war  then  set  the  Russian  col- 
ors. Soon  after  this  a  boat  was  seen  pulling  from 
the  commodore's  ship  for  the  Hero,  and  when 
alongside,  the  lieutenant  presented  an  invitation 
from  his  commodore  for  Captain  P.  to  go  on  board  ; 
this  of  course  was  accepted.  These  ships  he  then 
found  were  the  two  discovery  ships  sent  out  by  the 
Emperor  Alexander  of  Russia,  on  a  voyage  round 
the  world.  To  the  commodore's  interrogation  if  he 
had  any  knowledge  of  those  islands  then  in  sight, 
and  what  they  were.  Captain  P.  replied,  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  them,  and  that  they  were  the  South 
Shetlands,  at  the  same  time  making  a  tender  of  his 
services  to  pilot  the  ships  into  a  good  harbor  at 
Deception  Island,  the  nearest  by,  where  water  and 
refreshment  such  as  the  islands  afforded  could  be 
obtained  ;  he  also  informed  the  Russian  officer  that 
his  vessel  belonged  to  a  fleet  of  five  sail,  out  of 
Stonington,  under  command  of  Captain  B.  Pendleton, 
and  then  at  anchor  in  Yankee  Harbor,  who  would 
most  cheerfully  render  any  assistance  in  his  power. 
The  commodore  thanked  him  kindly  '  but  previous 
to  our  being  enveloped  in  the  fog'  said  he  'we  had 
sight  of  those  islands,  and  concluded  we  had  made 
a  discovery,  but  behold,  when  the  fog  lifts,  to  my 
great  surprise,  here  is  an  American  vessel  appar- 
ently in  as  fine  order  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday  she 
had  left    the   United   States ;    not   only  this,  but   her 


88  ANTARCTICA. 

master  is  ready  to  pilot  my  vessels  into  port ;  we 
must  surrender  the  palm  to  you  Americans,'  con- 
tinued he,  very  flatteringly.  His  astonishment  was 
yet  more  increased,  when  Captain  Palmer  informed 
him  of  the  existence  of  an  immense  extent  of  land 
to  the  south,  whose  mountains  might  be  seen  from 
the  masthead  when  the  fog  should  clear  away  en- 
tirely. Captain  Palmer,  while  on  board  the  frigate, 
was  entertained  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  and 
the  commodore  was  so  forcibly  struck  with  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case,  that  he  named  the  coast 
then  to  the  south,  Palmer's  Land ;  by  this  name  it 
is  recorded  on  the  recent  Russian  and  English 
charts  and  maps  which  have  been  j^ublished  since 
the  return  of  these  ships.  The  situation  of  the  dif- 
ferent vessels  may  be  seen  by  the  plate  ;  they  were 
at  the  time  of  the  liftino-  of  the  fo"'  and  its  <joiiiCf 
off  to  the  eastward,  to  the  south,  and  in  sight  of 
the  Shetland  Islands,  but  nearest  to  Deception  Is- 
land. In  their  immediate  neighborhood  were  many 
ice  islands,  some  of  greater  and  some  of  less  di- 
mensions, while  far  off  to  the  south,  the  icy  tops  of 
some  two  or  three  of  the  mountains  on  Palmer's 
Land  could  be  faintly  seen  ;  the  wind  at  the  time 
was  moderate,  and  both  the  ships  and  the  little 
sloop  were  moving  along  under  full  sail. 

"TliG  following  season  in  1821  and  22,  Captain 
Pendleton  was  again  at  Yankee  Harbor  witli  the 
.Stoninglon    Hrct;     he    then    once    more    despatched 


PALMER.  89 

Captain  Palmer  in  the  sloop  James  Monroe,  an  ex- 
cellent vessel  of  upwards  of  80  tons,  well  calculated 
for  such  duties,  and  by  her  great  strength  well  able 
to  venture  in  the  midst  of  and  wrestle  with  the  ice. 
Captain  Palmer  reported  on  his  return,  that  after  pro- 
ceeding to  the  southward,  he  met  ice  fast  and  firmly 
attached  to  the  shore  of  Palmer's  Land ;  he  then 
traced  the  coast  to  the  eastward,  keeping  as  near  the 
shore  as  the  ice  would  suffer  ;  at  times  he  was  able  to 
come  along  shore,  at  other  points  he  could  not  ap- 
proach within  from  one  to  several  miles  owing  to  the 
firm  ices,  although  it  was  in  December  and  January, 
the  middle  summer  months  in  this  hemisphere.  In 
this  way  he  coasted  along  this  continent  upwards  of 
fifteen  degrees,  viz.  from  64  and  odd,  down  below  the 
49th  of  west  longitude.  The  coast,  as  he  proceeded 
to  the  eastward,  became  more  clear  of  ice,  so  that 
he  was  able  to  trace  the  shore  better;  in  61°  41'  south 
latitude,  a  strait  was  discovered  which  he  named 
Washington  Strait,  this  he  entered  and  about  a  league 
within,  came  to  a  fine  bay  which  he  named  Monroe 
Bay,  at  the  head  of  this  was  a  good  harbor ;  here 
they  anchored,  calling  it  Palmer's  Harbor.  The  cap- 
tain landed  on  the  beach  among  a  number  of  those 
beautiful  amphibious  animals,  the  spotted  glossy-look- 
ing sea  leopard,  and  that  rich  golden  colored  noble 
bird,  the  king  penguin  ;  making  their  way  through 
these,  the  captain  and  party  traversed  the  coast  and 
country  for  some  distance  around,  without  discovering 


go  ANTARCTICA. 

the  least  appearance  of  vegetation  excepting  the 
winter  moss.  The  sea  leopards  were  the  only  animals 
found  ;  there  were,  however,  vast  numbers  of  birds, 
several  different  species  of  the  penguin.  Port  Egmont 
hens,  white  pigeons,  a  variety  of  gulls,  and  many 
kinds  of  oceanic  birds ;  the  valleys  and  gulleys  were 
mainly  filled  with  those  never  dissolved  icebergs,  their 
square  and  perpendicular  fronts  several  hundred  feet 
in  height,  glistening  most  splendidly  in  a  varietur  of 
colors  as  the  sun  shone  upon  them.  The  mountains 
on  the  coast,  as  well  as  those  to  all  appearance  in  the 
interior,  were  generally  covered  with  snow,  except 
when  their  black  peaks  were  seen  here  and  there 
peeping  out." 

This  voyage  was  recorded  also  in  1822  by  George 
Powell,'^**  in  whose  memoir  the  following  statements 
are  made  :  "  I  have  not  been  on  the  south  side  of  the 
land  myself,  but  I  received  my  information  respecting 
it  from  the  descriptions  and  sketches  of  my  friends, 
Captain  John  Walker,  Captain  Ralph  Bond,  and  Mr. 
Charles  Robinson;  and  by  comparing  these  documents 
together,  and  the  information  I  have  received  from 
other  masters  of  vessels,  I  conclude  that  the  descrip- 
tion will  be  found  exact.  Of  the  land  to  the  south- 
ward, called  Palmer's  Land,  very  litde  can  be  said,  as 
it  does  not  appear  to  be  sufficiendy  explored  ;  but  it 

""  (  /;,;;/  of  South  Slietland,  etc. :  Notes  on  South  Shetla7id, 
etc.,  pages  12,  6,  :  Annates  Marilimes,  etc.  :  Journal  des  voyages, 
etc     .See  post,  pages  95,  96. 


PALMER.  91 

has  been  described  as  very  high,  and  covered  with 
snow,  with  inlets,  forming  straits,  which  may  probably 
separate  the  land,  and  constitute  a  range  of  islands, 
similar  to  those  of  South  Shetland  ;  at  least  such  is 
the  appearance  of  the  northern  side,  which  alone  has 
yet  been  explored."  And  also  :  "  Off  the  N.  W.  side 
of  Elephant  Island,  latitude  61°  3',  longitude  55°  30'. 
Seal  Island  and  Reef  is  stated  in  our  Memoir,  page  15, 
to  be  in  61°  i'  soutli,  and  55°  33'  west.  The  Trinity 
Latid  and  Tower  Island  of  the  first  charts,  in  about 
631^°  South,  and  6oi^°  West,  are  given  up  as 
imaginary  or  as  icebergs  only.     Ed." 

Captain  Palmer  made  numerous  other  voyages, 
some  of  which  appear  to  be  unrecorded.  He  cer- 
tainly made  one  in  1828-29,  for  he  is  mentioned  by 
Dr.  Webster  of  the  "  Chanticleer."  In  1829-30,  Cap- 
tain B.  Pendleton  and  Captain  Palmer,"^  in  the  brigs 

"'  Fanning,  Edmund  :  Voyages  Round  the  World,  etc. ,  pages 
478-491.  Fanning  had  some  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  the  west- 
ern mainland,  for  on  page  476,  he  says  :  ' '  but  from  the  information 
the  author  has  in  his  possession,  it  is  presumed  that  the  continent 
of  Palmer's  Land  does  not  extend  further  west  than  to  the  loodth 
degree  of  west  longitude."  This  is,  probably,  the  most  authori- 
tative hint  of  the  existence  of  a  south  polar  continent  before  the 
discovery  by  Wilkes.  Fanning  wished  to  have  the  Antarctic  ex- 
plored scientifically,  and  urged  the  matter  in  a  paper :  Me- 
morial of  Edmund  Fanning ;  To  illustrate  the  views  in  a 
petition  presented  to  Congress,  praying  that  a  national  discov- 
ery and  exploring  expedition  be  se7it  to  the  South  Seas,  &c., 
December  18,  1833;  23d  Congress,  ist  Session:  Referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs  and  ordered  to  be  printed  :  (Lib. 
Co.,   Philadelphia). 


92  ANTARCTICA. 

"Seraph  "  and  "  Annawan,"  made  a  cruise  north  and 
west  of  Palmer  Land.  Some  scientists  went  on  this 
expedition,  among  whom  were  Messrs.  John  N.  Rey- 
nolds and  Watson.  Mr.  Reynolds ^^^  afterwards  took 
a  leading  part  in  the  formation  and  start  of  the 
United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  and  in  urging 
Congress  in  1836  to  send  the  latter,  he  said  among 
other  things  :  ^^^  "It  was  in  company  with  this  same 
Captain  Palmer,  during  my  late  voyage  to  the  South 
Seas,  that  I  visited  the  whole  of  this  extensive  group 
of  islands  lying  north  of  the  coast  of  Palmer's  Land, 
the  extent  of  which  neither  we  nor  any  subsequent 
navigators  have  as  yet  ascertained  ;  though  a  British 
vessel  touched  at  a  single  spot  in  1831,  taking  from  it 
the  American  and  giving  it  an  English  name."  ^''-  Mr. 
Reynolds  also  gave  an  almost  identical  account  as 
that  of  Fanning  of  the  meeting  of  the  Russian  com- 

"°  Address  on  the  subject  of  a  Surveying  and  Exploring  Ex- 
pedition to  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  South  Seas :  Delivered  in 
the  Hall  of  Representatives  on  the  evening  of  April  3,  1836,  by 
J.  N.  Reynolds:  New  York,  Harper  and  Brothers,  1836: 
(Harvard  Univ.  Lib.  ;  Amer.  Phil.  See. ;  Geog.  Soc.  Phila- 
delphia). 

'"  Address,  etc. ,  page  34. 

"'  Graham  Land.  This  name  has  been  used  most  incorrectly 
for  the  mainland  of  West  Antarctica.  It  is  merely  a  local  name 
and  applies  only  to  the  west  coast  between  Alexander  Land 
and  Danco  Land.  It  is  correctly  jilaced  on  iho  "South  Polar 
Chart"  by  Captain  W.  J.  L.  Wharton,  R.  N.,  F.  R.  S., 
Hydrograi)her  :  published  at  the  [British]  Admiralty,  20th  May, 
1887:  Small  corrections,  III.,  01  :   Chart  No.  1240. 


PALMER.  93 

mander   and    the  American    sealing   captain,   and    of 
the  naminof  of  Pahner  Land. 

Dr.  W.  H.  R.  Webster, "=*  of  the  "  Chanticleer,"  has 
fortunately  recorded  his  impressions  of  Palmer,  for, 
thanks  to  him,  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the  personality 
of  the  discoverer  of  Palmer  Land.  "Early  on  the 
following  morning,  Sunday,  25th  October,  Captain 
Foster  left  us,  in  quest  of  a  harbour  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  Chanticleer,  while  the  pendulum  experi- 
ments were  going  forward.  After  .  examining  New 
Year's  Harbour,  which  he  did  not  approve  of,  in 
his  way  along  the  coast  he  discovered  an  American 
schooner  at  anchor  in  one  of  the  creeks :  the  name 
of  the  schooner  was  the  Penguin  of  Stornington 
(sic) :  and  the  reception  he  met  with  from  Captain 
Palmer,  who  commanded  her,  was  most  kind.  Cap- 
tain Palmer  immediately  offered  to  conduct  the 
Chanticleer  into  the  creek,  which  he  had  named 
North  Port  Hatchett.  When  he  made  his  appear- 
ance on  board  the  brig  with  Captain  Foster,  we 
took  him  for  another  Robinson  Crusoe  in  the  shape 
of  some  shipwrecked  mariner.  He  was  a  kind  and 
good-hearted  man  ;  and  thinking  that  they  would 
be  a  treat  to  us,  had  brought  with  him  a  basket  of 
albatross's  eggs,  which  were  to  us  a  most  accept- 
able present.  How  completely  does  this  little  inci- 
dent, trifling  as  it  may  appear,  prove  the  justness 
of   Captain    Hall's   observations    in    his    useful    little 

^'^ Narrative  of  a  voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  pages  98-99. 


94  ANTARCTICA. 

work  entitled  '  Fragments  of  Voyages,'  that  it  is  the 
time  and  manner  of  making  a  present  that  gives  it 
all  its  value.  *  *  *  q,;,  (.}^g  following  day,  under 
the  care  of  Captain  Palmer,  the  Chanticleer  was  safely 
anchored  in  the  beautiful  little  harbour  of  North  Port 
Hatchett." 

The  account  by  Fanning  of  Palmer's  first  two  voy- 
aees  and  the  chart  and  memoir  of  1822  of  Georq-e 
Powell,  make  it  fairly  certain: — i,  that  Palmer  was 
probably  the  discoverer  and  certainly  the  first  ex- 
plorer of  the  lands  lying  south  of  Bransfield  Strait  and 
extending  for  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  kilometers 
between  about  57°  50'  and  62°  20'  west  longitude, 
that  is,  of  the  northern  coasts  of  West  Antarctica 
from  Liege  Island  to  Joinville  Island  both  inclusive  : — 
2,  that  Palmer  discovered  the  nordiern  end  of  Ger- 
lache  Strait,  which  he  recognized  was  a  strait  and 
not  a  bay  as  subsequently  charted: — 3,  that  Palmer 
discovered  the  strait  or  bay  since  called  Orleans 
Channel : — 4,  that  Palmer  recognized  that  these  lands 
were  perhaps  a  chain  of  islands : — 5,  that  this  coast 
or  these  islands  were  christened  Palmer  Land  and 
that  they  were  so  first  charted  in  England,  France 
and  America. 

It  is  possible,  also,  that  Palmer  may  have  been  the 
first  to  sieht  the  mainland  of  West  Antarctica,  al- 
though  in  the  present  state  of  uncertainty  about  the 
said  mainland,  this  must  be  looked  on  as  a  surmise. 

The  position  of  Palmer  among  antarctic  explorers 


PALMER,    rOWELL.  95 

and  also  the  fact  that  the  lands  first  coasted  along  by 
him  should  bear  his  name,  is  only  now  beginning  to 
be  generally  recognized.  The  Belgian  expedition 
under  de  Gerlache  brought  this  out  prominently  by 
rechristening  the  lands  west  of  Gerlache  Strait  "  Pal- 
mer Archipelago  "  and  Mr.  Henryk  Arctowski,'"  who 
has  helped  materially  in  obtaining  justice  for  Palmer, 
writes  "Trinity  island  is  therefore  the  last  island  of 
Palmer  archipelago."  I  thought  at  first  that  the 
islands  west  of  Gerlache  Strait  ought  to  be  called 
after  Dirck  Gerritsz,  but  this  is  evidently  a  mistake, 
since  it  seems  that  Gerritsz  never  went  to  the  Ant- 
arctic, and  with  proper  regard  to  the  chart  and 
memoir  of  Powell  and  the  account  of  Fannino-,  it 
seems  as  if  perhaps  the  most  just  arrangement  of 
names  would  be  to  call  henceforth  Anvcrs,  Gand, 
Brabant,  Liege  and  Trinity  Islands  "  Palmer  Archi- 
pelago." 

Captain  George  Powell  i'^"^  with  the  "  Elisa"  and  the 
"  Dove,"  arrived  off  the  South  Shetlands  from  the 
north-west  on  November  8,   1821.     He  stayed  on  the 

'"  The  Geographical  Journal,  London,  1901,  Vol.  XVIII., 
page  368. 

'"  Chart  of  South  Shetland,  including  Coronation  Island,  from 
the  exploration  of  the  Sloop  Dove,  in  the  years  182 1  and  1822;  By 
George  Powell,  commander  of  the  same  ;  published  by  R.  H. 
Laurie,  chart  seller  to  the  Admiralty,  No.  53,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  Nov.  ist,  1822."  Accompanying  this  is  a  memoir: 
Notes  on  South  Shetland,  printed  to  accompany  the  chart  of  the 


96  ANTARCTICA. 

north  coast  tlie  rest  of  the  month,  catching  but  few- 
seal.  Finally  he  met  Captain  Nathaniel  B.  Palmer,  with 
the  sloop  "  James  Monroe"  at  Elephant  Island.  He 
says  they  left  there  on  the  4th  of  December,  sailing  west, 
and  that  they  discovered  land  on  the  6th  of  December, 
which  Powell  says  he  sighted  first.  The  next  day  he 
landed  on  an  island  which  he  named  Coronation 
Island.  The  "  Dove"  and  "  Monroe"  then  sailed  along 
the  north  coast  of  this  island.  On  the  nth,  Powell 
sailed   through  Lewthwaite  Strait,  and    on  the   same 

newly  discovered  lajids,  which  has  been  constructed  fro7n  the  ex- 
plorations of  the  Sloop  Dove,  by  her  comtna7ider,  George  Powell  ; 
London,  printed  for  R.  H.  Laurie,  chart  seller  to  the  Admiralty, 
1822."  After  much  research,  I  found  a  copy  of  this  chart  and 
memoir  at  the  Biblioth^que  du  Dfipot  de  la  Marine,  Paris.  The 
chart  is  stamped  with  the  fleur-de-lys,  showing  that  it  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  French  government  before  1 84S  ;  and  it  is  there- 
fore probable  that  it  was  bought  for  Dumont  D'Urville  himself. 
By  the  kindness  of  Admirals  de  Lanessan  and  Puech,  and  Messrs. 
Graz  and  Juttet,  I  obtained  a  photograph  of  the  chart,  of  which 
the  western  half  is  reproduced,  reduced  in  size,  in  this  book. 

Annales  Maritimes  et  Coloniales  etc.,  Paris,  Imprimerie 
Royale,  1824;  Ann6e  1824;  11°  Partie,  Tome  I,  pages  5-25  : 
"  Extrait  du  Journal  du  voyage  du  capitaine  Powell  a  South- 
Shetland,  pendant  les  annCes  1821  et  1822."  Accompanying  this 
is  a  "  Carte  des  lies  de  South  Shetland,  y  compris  les  lies  Powell ; 
d'apr6s  la  reconnaissance  du  Dove  dans  les  anuses  1821  et  1822  ; 
par  Georges  Powell,  commandant  du  Dove":  (British  Museum). 
The  chart  is  an  exact  copy,  only  smaller,  of  the  original  chart, 
with  the  names  in  French. 

Journal  des  Voyages,  dicouvertes  et  navigatiotis  modcrncs,  ou 
Archives  giographiqnes  du  XIX'  siccle ;  par  J.  T.  Verneur, 
Tome  Vingt-deuxii!me,  Paris,  Colnet,  1824;  pages  93-111; 
"  Extrait  du  journal  du  voyage  du  Capitaine  Powell,  a  South 
Shetland,  pendant  les  ann6es   1821   et  1822":   (Bib.  Nat.  Paris). 


i  t 


b 


)RGE  POWELL. 


POWELL.  97 

day  apparently,  Palmer  sailed  through  and  named 
Washington  Strait.  They  returned  together  to  Clo- 
thier's Harbor,  reaching  it  on  December  22, 

Powell  speaks  of  the  ships  "  Dove,"  "  Elisa," 
"Ann,"  "Grace,"  "Vigilant,"  "  Mellona,"  "Indian," 
"William,"  "Lynx,"  "Nancy,"  and  "  Brusso,"  as 
having  been  at  the  South  Shetlands  at  various  times. 
He  says  also  that  the  brig  "Cora"  of  Liverpool 
was  lost  in  Blythe  Bay,  Desolation  Island,  in  1820; 
and  that  the  American  vessel  "Clothier"  was  lost 
in  Clothier's  Bay,  Robert's  Island  (probably  in 
1821).'^ 

These  two  last  mentioned  papers  were  brought  to  my  notice  by 
Mr.  P.  Lee  Phillips,  Chief  map  division,  Library  of  Congress  :  he 
also  informs  me  that  there  is  an  account  of  the  Powell  Islands  in 
Alex  G.  P'indlay's  A  directory  for  the  navigation  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  R.  H.  Laurie,  London,  1851,  part  IL,  pages  658-660. 

Findlay,  Alex.  G.:  Laurie' s  sailing  directions  for  the  Ethiopic 
or  Soid/tern  Atlantic  Occati ;  London,  Richard  Holmes  Laurie, 
1855:  (British  Museum).  At  pages  161-175  Findlay  says  that 
Powell's  chart  is  the  first  one  of  these  islands  of  West  Antarctica, 
and  that  John  Walker,  Robert  Fildes,  Ralph  Bond  and  Charles 
Robinson  particularly  assisted  in  making  it.  This  book  also  con- 
tains, pages  1 71-172,  a  note  by  one  of  the  English  sealers: 
"  Remarks  on  the  winds,  by  Captain  Robert  Fildes,  of  Liver- 
pool." 

An  account  of  Powell's  life  may  be  found  m  the  Biographic 
Universclle,  Supplement,  Paris,  L.  G.  Michaud,  1845.  Jules  de 
Blosseville,  Lieutenant  de  Vaisseau,  wrote  a  long  appreciative 
notice  of  Powell  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  IIL  ann€e, 
Tome  L,  Paris,  1S31,  pages  38-46  :  "  Mort  du  Capitaine  Georges 
PoweU." 

"•Lieutenant  de  Gerlache  {Soci^ti  Royale  Beige  de  Geo- 
graphic, Bulletin,  vingt  quatri^me  Ann6e,  1900,  "  Notes  sur  les 


98  ANTARCTICA. 

Powell's  work  in  the  Antarctic  was  important.  Be- 
sides all  the  lieht  his  chart  and  memoir  shed  about 
Palmer  Archipelago,  they  show  also  that  the  so-called 
South  Orkney  Islands  were  christened  the  Powell 
Group  and  were  so  charted  originally  both  in  England 
and  France.  This  name  will  be  found  also  on  some 
early  American  charts  :  it  is  used,  for  instance,  by 
Admiral  Wilkes.  It  is,  however,  a  singular  fact  that 
Powell  has  received  more  recognition  from  the  French 
than  from  his  own  countrymen,  by  whom  apparently 
his  services  to  geograpliy  have  been  forgotten.  Pow- 
ell should  certainly  be  commemorated  by  restoring  his 
name — as  will  be  done  in  this  book  at  least — to  the 
"  Powell  Islands." 

Captain  Benjamin  Pendleton  made  several  cruises 
to  the  Antarctic.  Besides  what  Fanning  tells  us '''' 
there  is  at  least  one  other  brief  record  of  his  voyages  : 
"Captain  Pendleton, ^'^''*  of  Stonington,  Connecticut, 
one  of   the  most  practical  and  intelligent  sealers    I 

Expeditions"  etc.,  page  393,)  says:  "During  the  years  1820, 
1821  and  1822,  seven  ships  were  lost  at  the  Shetlands,  ahiiost  all 
during  easterly  storms.  The  men  of  one  of  these  ships  were 
obliged  to  winter  on  the  coast  ;  during  many  months,  they  en- 
dured the  greatest  privations."  This  appears  to  be  the  first  time 
anyone  wintered  in  the  Antarctic. 

'"  See  ante  pages  85,  86,  91. 

""  Exeaitivc  Doaiments  ;  23d  Covgrcss,  2d  Session,  Doc.  No. 
103  ;  January  27,  1835  :  "A  report  o(  J.  N.  Reynolds,  in  relation 
to  islands,  reefs,  and  shoals  in  the  Pacific  Ocean"  etc.,  (dated) 
New  York,  September  24,  1828;  pages  26-27. 


PENDLETON.  99 

met  with,  and  who  has  spent  many  years  in  the  South 
Sea  fur  trade,  is  strongly  of  opinion  that  there  are 
many  valuable  discoveries  to  be  made  in  the  seas 
southwest  of  the  Shetlands.  The  quality  of  the  ice, 
nature  of  the  currents,  etc.,  make  his  conjecture 
highly  probable. 

"  The  island  Deception  abounds  with  volcanoes ; 
and  there  are  several  places  where  a  man  may  stand 
on  ice  and  snow,  and  cook  his  dinner  in  water  that 
boils  a  few  feet  below  him.  On  the  northern  part  of 
Palmer's  Land,  and  in  latitude  66°  S.,  and  about  63° 
W.  longitude.  Captain  Pendleton  discovered  a  bay, 
clear  of  ice,  into  which  he  run  for  a  great  distance,  but 
did  not  ascertain  its  full  extent  south.  In  those  seas 
the  prevailing  winds  are  from  W.  N.  W.  to  W.  S.  W., 
and  all  gales  from  northeast.  A  gale  seldom  con- 
tinues more  than  six  hours.  Clear  weather  from 
S.  S.  W.  and  S.  S.  E.,  which  is  not  many  days  in 
a  month. 

"  Captain  Pendleton  relates  a  curious  fact  of  De- 
ception Island.  The  middle  of  the  island  has  been 
thrown  up  entirely  by  internal  fires  and  volcanic 
eruptions,  until  the  main  body  of  the  island  has  dis- 
appeared. In  one  place  the  melted  lava  ran  into 
the  ocean,  leaving  a  passage  of  15  fathoms  water, 
over  which  he  passed  with  his  vessel  into  the  centre 
of  the  island,  which  had  the  appearance  of  an  im- 
mense bowl.  He  sounded  without  being  able  to  find 
bottom." 


I OO  ANTARCTICA. 

It  would  seem,  from  the  positions  given,  as  though 
Captain  Pendleton  must  have  been  before  Biscoe 
on  the  coast  now  known  as  Graham  Land,  of  which 
he  is  entitled  to  be  called  the  discoverer. 

Captain  Benjamin  Morrell,^^^  in  the  sealing  schooner 
"  Wasp"  of  Stonington,  made  a  voyage  to  the  Ant- 
arctic in  1822-23.  He  reached  the  Falklands  on  Oc- 
tober 1 6th,  then  made  a  useless  search  for  the  Auroras, 
and  afterwards  steered  for  South  Georgia.  Thence  he 
sailed  for  Bouvet  Island,  which  he  reached  on  Decem- 
ber 6th  and  where  he  caught  many  seals.  He  gives 
its  position  as  54°  15'  south  latitude,  6°  11'  east  lon- 
gitude. Sailing  from  there  southward  his  ship  was 
nipped  on  December  13th  in  60°  11' south  latitude, 
10°  23'  east  longitude.  After  extricating  himself,  he 
sailed  to  Kerguelen  Island,  where  he  spent  some  time 
sealing.  On  January  nth  he  steered  south  and  east, 
and  in  62°  27'  south  latitude,  94°  east  longitude,  fell 
in  with  ice  fields,  measuring  at  least  two  hundred  and 
forty  kilometers  east  and  west.  He  continued  east  until 
February  ist,  when  he  reached  64°  52'  south  latitude, 
118°  27'  east  longitude.  The  wind  now  came  fresh 
from  the  northeast,  and  Morrell  turned  west:  "being, 

i6»  <  (  ^  j\jarrative  of  Four  Voyages  to  tlie  South  Sea,  North  and 
South  Pacific  Oceayt,  Chinese  Sea,  Ethiopic  and  Southern  Atlantic 
Ocean,  Indian  and  Antarctic  Ocean  :  from  the  year  1822  to  1831: 
by  Capt.  Benjamin  Morrell,  Jiin.;  New  York,  J.  &  J.  Harper, 
1832,  pages  59-69:  (Lib.  Co.,  Philadelphia;  Acad.  Nat.  Sci. 
Philadelphia). 


PENDLETON,    MORRELL.  lOI 

however,  convinced  that  the  farther  we  went  south 
beyond  64°  the  less  ice  was  to  be  apprehended,  we 
steered  a  httle  to  the  southward  until  we  crossed  the 
atitarctic  circle,  and  were  in  lat.  69°  11'  S.,  long. 
48°  15'  E.  In  this  latitude  there  was  no  field  ice, 
and  very  few  ice  islands  in  sight."  He  continued 
steering  west  until,  on  February  23d,  he  crossed 
the  meridian  of  Greenwich  in  69°  42'  south  latitude. 
He  now  steered  north  and  west  for  Sandwich  Land. 

After  a  short  stay  at  Sandwich  Land,  Morrell  left 
there  on  March  8th,  steering  south  and  west.  He  was 
nearly  caught  by  field  ice,  but  broke  through,  and  on 
March  14th  reached  70°  14'  south  latitude,  40°  3'  west 
longitude.  Here  the  sea  was  free  from  field  ice,  and 
there  were  not  more  than  a  dozen  ice  islands  in  sight. 
The  temperature  of  the  air  was  47° F.,  and  of  the  water 
44°  F.,  both  of  which  were  higher  than  further  north. 
Morrell  also  says  that  on  the  several  occasions  on  which 
he  crossed  the  antarctic  circle,  he  found  the  tempera- 
ture both  of  the  air  and  of  the  water  became  milder 
the   further  he  advanced   beyond  65°  south  latitude. 

From  his  most  southerly  point,  Morrell  turned 
northwest,  giving  as  his  reasons  for  not  penetrating 
further,  that  he  had  no  fuel  and  was  short  of  water. 
On  March  15th,  in  the  afternoon  "we  were  close  in 
with  the  eastern  coast  of  the  body  of  land  to  which 
Captain  Johnson  had  given  tlic  name  of  New  South 
Greenland."  On  March  i6th,  the  boats  searched  for 
seals  on  the  coast,    "  the  vessel  following  or  keeping 


I02  ANTARCTICA, 

abreast  of  them,  about  two  miles  from  the  land,  until 
the  next  day  at  4  P.  M.  when  we  were  in  lat.  67°  52' 
S.,  long.  48°  1 1'  W.  *  *  *  The  coast  here  tended 
about  S.  E.  by  S.,  and  we  thought  we  could  discern 
some  of  the  mountains  of  snow,  about  seventy-five 
miles  to  the  southward.  *  *  *  Qn  Wednesday, 
the  19th,  we  were  close  in  with  the  north  cape  of 
New  South  Greenland;  lat.  62°  41'  S.,  long.  47°  21' 
W.,  by  dead  reckoning,  not  having  had  an  observa- 
tion for  three  days ;  coast  tending  to  the  south,  and 
S.  by  W,  *  *  *  I  would  also  further  state,  what 
is  my  firm  conviction,  that  ice  islands  are  never 
formed  except  in  bays  and  other  recesses  of  the 
land  ;  and  that  even  field  ice  is  never  produced  in 
deep  water  or  on  a  rough  sea.  The  necessary  in- 
ference, therefore,  is  this : — If  there  be  no  more  land 
to  the  south  than  that  with  which  we  are  generally 
acquainted,  the  antarctic  seas  must  be  much  less 
obstructed  by  ice  than  is  generally  supposed ;  afid 
that  a  clear  sea  is  open  for  voyages  of  discovery  even 
to  the  South  pole!'  Morrell  then  stood  to  the  north. 
It  is  necessary  to  comment  rather  at  length  on  Mor- 
rell's  narrative,  as  no  antarctic  voyager  has  been 
more  decried.""'  Morrell  may  have  reached  64°  52' 
south  latitude,  118°  27' east  longitude,  and  not  seen 

""Morrell  has  been  severely  assailed,  for  instance,  by  D'Urville, 
by  Dr.  Fricker,  by  Commander  J.  E.  Davis,  R.  N.,  the  latter  in 
answer  to  Captain  Hamilton,  etc.  (Commander  Davis  is  the  author 
of  a  jiaper  in  The  Jottrnal  of  the  Royal  Gcoffraphiral  Society,  Vol. 
XXXIX.,  1869,  pages  91-95  :    "  On  Antarctic  Discovery  and  its 


MORRELL.  103 

Wilkes  Land.  He  may  have  reached  69°  11'  south 
latitude,  48°  15'  east  longitude  and  no  one  can  say 
him  nay,  as  no  one  else  has  been  anywhere  near  that 
position.     If  he  is  correct,  then    Enderby   Land  is 

connection  with  the  Transit  of  Venus  in  1882.")  D'Urville  and 
Dr.  Fricker  give  as  a  reason  for  disbelieving  in  Morrell  that  his 
book  is  rare — at  any  rate  there  are  two  copies  in  the  Philadelphia 
Library — and  they  also  say  that  his  book  ' '  was  withdrawn  soon 
after  Biscoe's  discoveries  were  made  known,"  but  as  no  authority 
is  given  for  the  statement,  this  needs  confirmation.  Dr.  Hugh 
Robert  Mill  {^The  Antarctic  Maimal,  London,  1901,  page  533) 
on  the  other  hand  mentions  that  there  were  "other  editions" 
of  Morrcll's  book  in  1841  and  1850,  which  scarcely  looks  as  if 
the  book  had  been  withdrawn,  but  much  more  as  if  the  edition 
had  been  sold  out. 

Captain  (now  Sir)  R.  V.  Hamilton  wrote  an  able  defence  of 
Morrell,  (^Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  1870, 
Vol.  XIV.,  pages  145-156  ;  "On  Morrell's  Antarctic  Voyage  in 
the  year  1823,"  etc.)  in  which  he  said  inter  alia,  "  whatever  else 
Mr.  Morrell  might  not  have  discovered,  he  was  the  first  discoverer 
of  guano  in  the  island  of  Ichaboe  and  Lobos.  The  speed  of  120 
miles  a  day,  with  which  he  made  the  voyage,  was  nothing  uncom- 
mon as  the  sea  was  not  encumbered  with  ice.  *  *  *  Mi-_ 
Morrell  was  a  sealer,  not  an  educated  man,  and  therefore  due 
allowance  must  be  made  for  his  errors."  Dr.  A.  Petermann 
{^Mitteilungen  aus  Justus  Perthes  Geographischer  Anstalt,  etc., 
von  Dr.  A.  Petermann,  1863,  pages  407-428: — Petermann,  A.; 
"  Neue  Karte  der  Siid  Polar  Regionen  ")  appears  to  have  be- 
lieved in  Morrell,  for  he  says:  "about  the  longitude  there 
is  probably  a  correction  to  be  made  of  at  least  5°  to  the  west." 
Sir  John  Uinrrd.y  {Scottish  Geographical  Magazine,  Vol.  IL,  1886, 
pages  527-548:  Murray,  John,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D. :  "The  Explora- 
tion of  the  Antarctic  Regions  ")  marks  Morrell's  positions  on  his 
map,  apparently  with  Dr.  Petermann's  correction  for  longitude. 
Professor  Heilprin  {Poptdar  Scie^tce  Monthly,  New  York,  1897, 
pages  323-336:  Heilprin,  Professor  Angelo:  "Our  present 
knowledge  of  the  Antarctic  Regions ' ' )  likewise  appears  to  consider 


I04  ANTARCTICA. 

probably  an  island,  and  certainly  the  reports  of  the 
"  Paeoda"  and  the  "Valdivia"  show  that  further  ex- 
ploration  in  that  quarter  is  necessary. 

When  Morrell  speaks  of  New  South  Greenland  he 
may  refer  to  a  land  which  no  one  else,  except  perhaps 

Morrell  trustworthy.  Captain  A.  Schiick  {Zeitschrift  filr  Wissen- 
schaflliche  Gft7^rfl//^?V,Weimari888,  pages  242-264: — A.  Schiick: 
' '  Entwickelung  unserer  Kenntniss  der  Lander  im  Suden  von 
Amerika":  the  title  of  which  paper  proves  the  need  of  some  name 
like  West  Antarctica)  gives  an  elaborate  explanation  of  how  Morrell 
may  have  reached  70°  14'  south  latitude,  and  seen  the  coast  of 
West  Antarctica,  and  yet,  owing  to  bad  chronometers  or  to  not 
having  any  chronometers,  easily  have  made  a  mistake  of  a  good 
many  degrees  in  longitude.  He  mentions  the  case  of  a  vessel 
which  a  few  years  since,  made  an  error  of  thirteen  degrees  of 
longitude,  on  the  voyage  between  Cape  Town  and  Australia  ;  in 
a  latitude  where  every  error  in  a  degree  of  longitude  would  mean 
nearly  double  the  error  perhaps  made  by  Morrell. 

About  the  accuracy  of  observations  for  longitude  formerly 
made  at  sea,  Mr.  A.  Fraser-Macdonald  {^Otcr  Ocean  Railways, 
London,  Chapman  &  Hall,  1893,  page  251)  writes:  "A  hundred 
years  ago  ship-masters  on  a  voyage  from  the  British  Islands  to 
America  guessed  as  much  as  calculated  the  place  of  their  ships. 
If  bound  for  Boston,  Massachusetts,  they  did  not  by  any  means 
regard  it  as  a  bad  land  fall  to  make  New  York,  which  they  fre- 
quently did,  and  no  wonder,  for  their  instruments  of  navigation 
erred  quite  as  much  by  degrees  as  they  now  do  by  seconds.  In 
fact,  instances  then  occurred  of  vessels  sailing  across  the  Atlantic 
being  from  6°  to  8°  and  even  10°  of  longitude  out  of  their  reck- 
oning in  as  many  days  from  port. 

"  Chronometers  were  then  but  an  experiment,  and  the  tables 
of  the  Nautical  Ephcmeris  involved  errors  of  thirty  miles  in  longi- 
tude in  working  out  an  observation.  When  the  rude  '  cross- 
staff'  and  'back-staff,'  the  'sea  ring'  and  'mariner's  bow'  gave 
place  to  the  more  accurate  sextant  and  circle  reflection,  more 
accurate  observations  were  secured." 


MORRELL.  105 

Johnson,  has  seen.  But  Fanning'"^  tells  us  distinctly 
that  New  South  Greenland  was  the  land  discovered 
by  Pendleton  and  Palmer,  that  is,  West  Antarctica. 
There  may  be  a  land  in  67°  south  latitude,  48°  west 
longitude,  for  no  one  but  Morrell  claims  to  have  been 
in  that  position,'^'  but  there  may  also  have  been  a 
mistake  in  Morrell's  published  longitudes,  and  this 
may  have  arisen  in  one  of  two  ways.  He  was  a  sealer, 
and  it  is  not  likely  that  he  had  a  chronometer  or  even 
an  ordinary'  watch  which  was  reliable,  and  he  there- 
fore might  easily  have  made,  and  probably  he  did 
make,  errors  in  his  observations.  Again,  his  book  is 
a  bad,  cheap  and  careless  piece  of  typography,  and 
the  figure  4  may  simply  have  been  substituted  for 
the  figure  5  :  48°  for  58°. 

If  F"anning's  remark  is  accurate,  and  if  New  South 
Greenland  is  West  Antarctica,  part  of  Morrell's  narra- 

""See/(7.f/,  page  108. 

"'Signer  Faustino  (^Bolletino  Societa  Geografica  Italiana, 
Roma,  1901,  Serie  IV,  Vol.  II,  pages  653-658: — Faustino,  A.  ; 
"La  Groenlandia  del  Sud":  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Philadelphia)  in 
an  unprejudiced,  sensible  paper,  shows  that  there  may  be  land  in 
48°  west  longitude,  67°  south  latitude  as  Morrell  states. 

Vivien  de  Saint  Martin  (Vivien  de  Saint-Martin  et  Fr.  Schrader  : 
Atlas  Universel  de  Geographic,  Paris,  Hachette  ;  Chart  ' '  Region 
polaire  antarctique  "  imprim6  par  Ch.  Chardon,  1883:  Hai-vard 
Univ.  Lib.)  charts  "  Greenland  Mer'"  in  48°  west  longitude,  67° 
south  latitude  ;  Morrell's  course  also  is  laid  through  Budd  Land, 
Knox  Land,  and  Termination  Land,  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  Mor- 
rell does  not  give  his  course  except  in  the  most  general  terms.  On 
the  same  chart  also,  ' '  Cote  Clarie  "  is,  as  usual,  placed  on  Cape 
Carr  :  otherwise  all  the  names  given  by  Wilkes  are  there. 


I06  ANTARCTICA. 

live  at  least  becomes  fairly  clear.  The  two  phrases, 
on  March  15th  and  i6th,  "we  were  close  in  with  the 
eastern  coast"  and  "the  coast  here  tended  about 
S.  E.  by  S.,"  are  noteworthy.  For  how  did  Morrell 
know  that  there  was  an  eastern  coast,  if  he  had  not 
been  there  ?  There  may  be  an  earlier  mention  of  the 
eastern  coast  than  that  of  Morrell,  published  in  1832, 
but  if  so,  I  have  not  come  across  it.  The  eastern 
coast  of  West  Antarctica  is  not  marked  on  Powell's 
chart,  on  Weddell's  chart,  on  Vandermaelen's  atlas,"''' 
or  on  D'Urville's  chart.  D'Urville  *"  states  that  he  ran 
over  62°  41' south  latitude,  47°  21' west  longitude,  and, 
therefore,  he  claims  that  New  South  Greenland  has 
no  existence.  Of  course  this  may  be  the  case,  but  it 
seems  more  likely  that  Morrell's  northern  point  was 
Joinville  Island. 

Morrell's  narrative  is  decidedly  vague,  but  then  so 
are  the  narratives  of  many  antarctic  voyagers,  wit- 
ness Bransficld,  Foxton,  Uallmann,  etc.  Although 
Morrell's  work  is  of  little  value  as  a  geographic 
record,  yet  it  should  be  noted  how  sensible  and  scien- 
tific is  his  explanation,  quoted  above,  of  the  formation 
of  icebergs  and  iield  ice :  in  fact  it  is  probably  the 
best  explanation  offered  up  to  the  date  of  its  publi- 
cation.     A    comparison,   for   instance,    of    Morrell's 

""  Vandcrmaclen,  Pli. :  A//as  Universe/  de  Giographie,  Briix- 
eUes,  1827:  (Library  of  Congress). 

'"  Voyage  au  P6le  Sud,  etc..  Vol.  II.,  1842,  pages  16,  17. 


MORRELL,    JOHNSON.  IO7 

accurate  theory,  witli  Biscoe's  erroneous  theory""'^ 
shows  instantly  how  superior  to  Biscoe,  Morrell  was 
as  a  scientific  observer.  In  judging  Morrell's  antarc- 
tic record,  it  should  be  remembered  that  he  was  a 
sealer  and  not  a  scientist,  that  he  had  no  instruments 
of  precision,  that  the  summer  of  1823  was  the  most 
open  in  antarctic  annals,  and  that  even  then  Morrell 
does  not  claim  to  have  reached  as  high  a  southern 
latitude  as  Weddell  in  the  same  year. 

Captain  Robert  Johnson,  in  1822,  made  a  sealing 
cruise  in  the  schooner  "  Henry"  of  New  York.  Cap- 
tain Morrell  writes  about  him;"'''  "The  schooner 
'  Henr}','  Captain  Johnson,  who  had  been  vainly  cruis- 
ing for  six  weeks  in  search  of  the  Aurora  Islands, 
returned  to  New  Island  on  Wednesday,  the  23d. 
(Note.  The  history  of  these  imagijiary  islands  will 
be  found  on  a  subsequent  page.)"  And  later  :  "  March 
15th,  *  *  '^-  At  this  time  the  wind  had  hauled  to 
the  southwest,  and  at  half-past  four  P.  M.  we  were 
close  in  with  the  eastern  coast  of  the  land  to  which 
Captain  Johnson  had  given  the  name  of  New  South 
Greenland."  ^^ 

Edmund  Fanning  also  speaks  of  Captain  Johnson  :'^* 

^"Seeposi,  pages  119,  120. 
^''  A  Narrative  of  Four  Voyages,  etc.,  page  53. 
""  A  Narrative  of  Four  Voyages,  etc.,  page  69. 
'"  Voyages  Round  the  World,  etc.,  page  437. 


I08  ANTARCTICA. 

"  This  continent,  it  is  asserted  in  Morrell's  voyage, 
page  69,  was  named  '  New  South  Greenland  '  by  a 
Captain  Johnson.  It  is  but  just  to  state  here,  that  this 
most  meritorious  mariner  (Captain  Johnson)  was  a 
pupil  to,  and  made  his  first  voyage  to  the  South  Seas 
with  the  author,  with  whom  also  he  remained,  rising 
to  different  stations,  and  finally  became  one  of  his  best 
officers  ;  the  first  information  he  obtained  of  the  dis- 
covery of  this  land  by  Captains  Pendleton  and  Palmer 
was  from  the  author  of  this  work." 

Captain  Johnson  made  another  cruise  in  the  year 
1824  or  1826.  "  From  this  voyage  he  never  returned. 
He  was  last  seen  at  the  South  Cape  of  New  Zealand, 
in  the  following  year,  having  lost  three  men,  who 
were  drowned  at  Chatham  Islands.  *  *  *  My  in- 
formants further  stated,  that  the  "Henry"  left  New 
Zealand  on  a  cruise  to  the  south  and  east,  in  search 
of  new  lands,  between  the  sixtieth  and  sixty-fifth  de- 
grees of  south  latitude  ;  and  as  he  has  never  been 
heard  of  since  leaving  New  Zealand,  it  is  very  prob- 
able that  he  made  discovery  of  some  new  island  near 
the  parallel  of  60  on  which  the  "  Henry  "  was  ship- 
wrecked." ^^'■' 

American  sealers,  besides  those  whose  names  arc 
recorded,  certainly  made  journeys  to  the  Antarctic  in 
the  first  ([uarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Mr.  J.  N. 


'A  Narrative  of  Four  Voyages,  etc.,  pages  XXIII.  and  363. 


JOHNSON,    AMERICAN    SEALERS.  IO9 

Reynolds  tells  us:^™  "The  information  I  have  thus 
far  communicated  has  been  derived  chiefly  from  our 
citizens  engaged  or  interested  in  the  whale  fishery. 
I  regret  that  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  communicate  in 
writing  all  the  interesting  facts  which  I  have  been  en- 
abled to  collect  from  those  engaged  in  the  seal  trade, 
or,  as  they  call  it,  'the  skinning  business.'  The  oc- 
cupation of  these  men  leads  them  into  seas  and  parts 
of  the  globe  far  beyond  the  common  pathway  of  the 
whaler.  Their  voyages  and  adventures,  too,  are  of 
the  most  daring  kind.  In  small  vessels  they  venture 
into  high  southern  latitudes,  and  have  actually  taken 
seal,  with  profit,  in  some  instances,  within  the  ant- 
arctic circle.  In  the  history  of  the  seal  trade,  secrecy 
in  what  they  know,  has  been  deemed  a  part,  and  a 
very  important  part  too,  of  their  capital.  There  is 
nothing  more  common  at  this  time,  than  that  islands 
are  frequented  for  animal  fur,  and  their  positions 
known  to  no  one  on  board  but  the  captain ;  and  when 
an  island  is  discovered,  the  observations  are  made  and 
noted  down  by  the  captain  in  his  private  journal. 

"*  *  *  I  have  been  enabled  to  make  the  following 
estimate  : 

"  That  they  have  been  beyond  70°  S.  latitude  in  a 
few    instances,  in    which    latitude    they  experienced 

""  ExeaiHve  Documents,  2jd  Congress,  2d  Session,  Doc.  No. 
105  ;  January  27,  1835  "A  report  of  J.  N.  Reynolds,  in  relation 
to  islands,  reefs  and  shoals  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,"  etc.,  (dated) 
New  York,  September  24,  1828  ;  pages  25,  26. 


I  lO  ANTARCTICA, 

moderate  weather,  a  clear  sea,  and  no  land  or  ice  to  the 
south.  They  all  agree  that  the  ice  to  be  met  with  is 
first  formed  and  attached  to  land,  and  that  the  greatest 
impediment  to  navigation  from  ice  will  be  found  from 
62°  to  68°  S.,  except  in  those  meridians  where  they 
have  not  been  able  to  go  far  south  at  any  time.  They 
have  seen  lands  to  the  east  of  the  Shetlands,  but 
give  no  account  of  any  animal  or  vegetable  pro- 
ductions on  any  of  them. 

"  The  southern  part  of  the  New  South  Shetlands 
extends  farther  than  any  one  has  yet  penetrated. 
The  shores  are  bold  and  in  many  places  afford 
spacious  harbors,  which  look  as  if  they  might  ex- 
tend far  into  land,  like    Hudson's   or    Baffin's   Bay. 

"  In  latitude  63°  S.,  and  63°  W.  longitude,  from 
the  island  Pisgah,  our  sealers  have  sailed  along  a 
high  and  rugged  coast,  tending  S.  W.  to  75°  W. 
longitude,  and  66°  S.  latitude,"  etc. 

The  last  paragraph  is  practically  conclusive  evi- 
dence that,  before  the  year  1828,  American  sealers 
had  sailed  along  the  coast  of  Graham  Land  and 
probably  as  far  as  Alexander  Land. 

Captain  Weddell"'  made  numerous  sealing  voy- 
ages  in    1 820-1 823.     He   searched   for   the  Aurora 

"'  Woddell,  James,  Esq.,  master  in  the  Royal  Navy  :  A  Voyage 
towards  Ihc  South  Pole,  performed  in  the  years  1822-24:  Lon- 
don, Longman,  Hurst,  Rees,  Orme,  Brown  and  Green,  1825 : 
(Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia). 


AMERICAN   SEALERS,    WEDDELL.  Ill 

Islands,  and  concluded  diat  diey  were  really  die  Shag 
Rocks,  in  53°  48'  south  latitude,  43°  25'  west  longi- 
tude. He  visited  the  South  Shetlands  several  times 
and  called  one  of  them  Smith's  Island  and  another 
James'  Island  :  from  his  chart,  he  appears  to  have 
been  only  on  their  north  or  eastern  shores. 

In  February  1823,  Weddell,  in  the  brig  "Jane,"  and 
Mr.  Matthew  Brisbane,  in  the  cutter  "  Beaufoy,"  made 
an  important  southern  cruise.  Standing  south  on 
the  4th  of  February,  they  were  deceived  by  great 
ice  islands  into  thinking  they  had  sighted  land.  On 
the  14th,  in  68°  28'  south  latitude,  29°  43'  west  longi- 
tude, the  ice  islands  were  so  numerous  as  almost  to  pre- 
vent the  ships  passing.  On  the  i6th,  on  the  contrary, 
in  70°  26'  south  latitude,  29°  58'  west  longitude,  "ice 
islands  had  almost  disappeared,  and  the  weather  be- 
came very  pleasant."'"^  On  the  i8th  the  ships  were  in 
72°  38'  south  latitude.  "In  the  evening  we  had  many 
whales  about  the  ship,  and  the  sea  was  literally  cov- 
ered with  birds  of  the  blue  peterel  kind.     Not  a  par- 

Weddell,  James,  master  in  the  Royal  Navy :  Observations  on 
the  probability  of  Reaching  the  South  Pole,  London,  Longman, 
Rees,  Orme,  Brown  and  Green,  1826:  (Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila- 
delphia). 

Weddell,  James,  etc.  :  A  Voyage  towards  the  South  Pole,  etc., 
London,  Longman,  etc.,  1827:  This  contains  also  "Observa- 
tions on  the  probability  of  reaching  the  South  Pole"  and 
' '  Second  Voyage  of  the  Beaufoy  to  Tierra  del  Fuego ' '  :  (Acad. 
Nat.  Sci.  Philadelphia).  The  Beaufoy  was  under  the  command  of 
Mr.  Brisbane  and  did  not  go  to  the  Antarctic  during  this  journey. 

"^  A  Voyage,  etc.,  page  34. 


1 1 2  ANTARCTICA. 

tide  of  ice  of  any  description  was  to  be  seen.  The 
evening  was  mild  and  serene." ''^^  On  the  19th  the 
ships  were  in  'j'^  17'  south  latitude,  35°  54'  west  longi- 
tude. On  the  20th:  "At  10  o'clock  in  the  forenoon, 
when  the  ship's  head  was  E.  S.  E.,  I  took  a  set  of 
azimuths,  which  gave  variation  11°  20'  east.  The 
atmosphere  now  became  very  clear,  and  nothing  like 
land  was  to  be  seen.  Three  ice  islands  were  in  sight 
from  the  deck,  and  one  other  from  the  masthead.  On 
one  we  perceived  a  great  number  of  penguins  roosted. 
Our  latitude  at  this  time,  20th  February,  1822,  was 
74°  15',  and  longitude  34°  16'  45";  the  wind  blowing 
fresh  at  south,  prevented,  what  I  most  desired,  our 
making  further  progress  in  that  direction.  I  would 
willingly  have  explored  the  S.  W.  quarter,  but  taking 
into  consideration  the  lateness  of  the  season,  and  that 
we  had  to  pass  homeward  through  1000  miles  of  sea 
strewed  with  ice  islands,  with  long  nights  and  prob- 
ably attended  with  fogs,  I  could  not  determine  other- 
wise than  to  take  advantage  of  this  favourable 
wind  for  returning.  ^'^  *  -^  *  These  considera- 
tions induce  me  to  conclude,  that  from  having  but 
three  ice  islands  in  sight,  in  latitude  74  degrees, 
the  range  of  land,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  does 
not  extend  more  southerly  than  the  73d  degree. 
If  this  be  true,  and  if  there  be  no  more  land  to  the 
southward,  the  antarctic  polar  sea  may  be  found  less 

'"  A  Voyage,  etc. ,  page  36. 
"M  Voyage,  etc.,  page  37. 


WEDDELL.  113 

icy  than  is  imagined,  and  a  clear  field  of  discovery, 
even  to  the  South  Pole,  may  therefore  be  antici- 
pated."^"'' Captain  Weddell  then  sailed  northward, 
on  a  course  not  far  distant  from  his  southerly  one. 
His  southern  cruise  is  interesting,  and  what  he  says 
about  warmer  weather  and  little  ice  far  south,  agrees 
with  what  Morrell  reports  of  the  same  season.  Wed- 
dell called  his  open  sea  "  George  IV.  Sea  "  :  a  better 
name  for  it  would  be  "  Weddell  Sea,"  but  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  a  local  name  will  be  applied  to  a 
portion  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

Morrell  wrote  a  brief  notice  of  Weddell,  about 
whom  he  says:^™  "Captain  James  Weddell,  of  the 
British  Navy,  whom  I  have  before  mentioned  in  the 
previous  chapter,  as  seeking  for  the  Aurora  Islands, 
in  1822  :  a  most  excellent  officer,  and  a  highly  worthy 
man :  justly  extolled  as  an  active,  correct  and  enter- 
prising navigator.  Being  familiar  with  danger  in  its 
most  appalling  form,  every  emergency  finds  him  cool, 
steady  and  undaunted.  He  is,  in  short,  at  once  an 
honour  to  his  country  and  to  human  nature.  I  speak 
with  confidence,  for  I  know  him."'" 

"^A  Voyage,  etc.,  page  43. 

'"^4  Narrative  of  Four  Voyages,  etc.,  page  68. 

"'  Several  writers,  among  them  Dumont  D'Urville,  (  Voyage 
au  Pole  Sud,  etc..  Vol.  1 1,  page  123)  and  Captain  Schiick  {Zeitschrift 
fur  'ivissenschaftliche  Geographic,  U'einiar,  1 888 ;  pages  242-264 : — 
A.  Schiick :  "  Entwickelung  unserer  Kenntniss  der  Liinder  im 
Siiden  von  Amerika")  discuss  Weddell's  voyage,  and  for  various 
reisons,  criticise  rather  severely  his  narrative.    Monsieur  de  Mon- 


I  14  ANTARCTICA. 

A  Captain  Hoseason,  according  to  D'Urville,^™  may 
have  made  discoveries  in  West  Antarctica.  D'Urville 
says:  "However,  on  the  map  of  the  Englishman 
Laurie,  one  saw  Palmer  Land  stretch  out  east  and 
west  to  a  notable  extent.  In  the  east  the  outline 
remained  quite  vague  and  confused,  but  in  the  west 
one  saw  drawn  a  considerable  bight  under  the  name 
of  Hughes  Bay,  with  Hoseason,  Intercurrence  and 
Three  Hummocks  islands,  and  Point  Farewell.  No 
document  has  reached  us  about  the  author  of  these 
discoveries ;  only,  from  an  indication  to  be  found 
on  this  map,  we  are  led  to  think  that  a  certain 
Captain  Hoseason  had,  during  the  year  1824,  made 
these  discoveries,  while  seeking  new  lands  suitable 
for  seal  fishing." 

Captain  Norris,'"  with  the  "  Sprightly "  and 
"  Lively,"  belonging  to  Messrs.  Enderby,  on  De- 
travel,  of  D'Urville's  expedition,  goes  so  far  as  to  write  (  Voyage 
ail  Pole  Slid,  Vol.  II.,  pages  301-303)  of  Weddell  "  dont  je 
regarde  le  voyage  comme  apocryphe." 

"'  Voyage  au  Pole  Sud,  etc.,  \'ol.  II.,  page  20.  The  map  re- 
ferred to  is  evidently  not  Powell's  chart.  It  may  or  may  not  be 
the  map  mentioned  by  D'Urville  as  giving  Bransfield's  discov- 
eries. It  seems  well,  however,  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
on  Powell's  chart  of  1822,  the  outline  of  Palmer  Land,  from 
Liijge  Island  to  Joinville  Island,  both  inclusive,  is  perfectly  clear 
and  neither  vague  nor  confused. 

On  the  chart  published  in  connection  with  Mr.  Smith's  voyage 
(The  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal,  Vol.  III.,  1820)  there 
is  a  small  island  called   "  Moseason's  Aim." 

'"Ross,  Sir  J.  C.  :   Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  II.,  pages  371,372. 


HOSEASON,    NORRIS,    FOSTER.  II5 

cember  loth,  1825,  sighted  an  island  in  54°  15'  south 
latitude,  5°  east  longitude.  He  called  it  Liverpool 
Island,  but  it  is  doubtless  Bouvet  Island.  On  the 
13th,  he  sighted  another  small  island  in  53°  56' 
south  latitude,  5°  30'  east  longitude,  which  he  called 
Thompson  Island. 

Captain  Henry  Foster,  R.  N.,  in  1 828-1 829,  com- 
manded an  expedition  to  the  South  Shetlands^'*"  for  the 
purpose  of  making  pendulum  observations.  After 
stopping  at  Staaten  Land,  where  he  met  Captain  Na- 
thaniel B.  Palmer,  he  sailed  to  the  Shetlands  and  be- 
yond to  a  place  in  63°  43'  south  latitude,  61°  45'  west 
longitude,  which  he  named  Possession  Cape^**'  and 
on  which  he  landed.  Lieutenant  Kendal  thinks  this 
was  a  new  discovery,  but  he  is  clearly  in  error.  The 
"  Chanticleer  "  was  then  moored  in  the  harbor  (Yankee 

"°  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the  Soiitliern  Atlantic  Ocean,  in 
the  years  1828-29-30,  performed  in  H.  M.  Sloop  Chanticleer, 
under  the  command  of  the  late  Captain  Henry  Foster,  F.  R.  S., 
etc.  :  from  the  private  journal  of  W.  H.  B.  Webster,  Surgeon 
of  the  Sloop:  London,  Richard  Bentley,  1834:  (Lib.  Co.  Phila- 
delphia). 

The  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London,  for 
MDCCCXXX-XXXL,  London,  MDCCCXXXL  :  VL— "Ac- 
count of  the  Island  of  Deception,  one  of  the  New  Shetland  Isles  ' ' : 
Extracted  from  the  private  journal  of  Lieutenant  Kendal,  R.  N. , 
embarked  on  board  His  Majesty's  Sloop  Chanticleer,  Captain 
Forster  {sic~),  on  a  scientific  voyage  ;  and  communicated  by  John 
Barrow,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S. :  read  24th  January,  1831. 

'"  This  is  what  is  now  known  as  Hoseason  Island  :  it  is  indi- 
cated on  Powell's  chart  of  1822. 


I  1 6  ANTARCTICA. 

Harbor)  of  Deception  Island  on  January  9th,  1829, 
and  remained  there  until  March  4th,  and  during  her 
stay  numerous  pendulum  observations  were  made. 
The  island  is  volcanic :  some  of  the  mountain  peaks 
emitted  smoke ;  and  numerous  hot  springs  bubbled 
up  on  the  shores  and  the  beaches.^*-  Dr.  Webster 
and  Dr.  Peter  Conolan  studied  the  fauna  and  flora 
of  Deception  Island.^**  They  were  much  struck 
with  the  enormous  abdominal  vein  of  the  leopard- 
seals. 

Dr.  Webster  says  of  icebergs :  '*^  "  Having  made 
some  experiments  of  this  nature,  I  deduced  from 
them  that  in  cubic  pieces  of  ice  one-seventh  part  only 
remained  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  I  also 
placed  a  cone  of  ice  on  a  cubic  piece  from  the  same 
iceberg,  and  found  that  the  cube  easily  floated  and 
sustained  the  litde  pyramid,  the  height  of  which  was 
more  than  double  the  depth  of  the  cube  below  the 
water.  I  also  floated  irregular-shaped  masses,  and 
found  their  heights  above  the  surface  to  vary  consider- 
al^ly;  in  some  it  was  equal,  in  others  greater  dian  the 
depth  below  it ;  proving  that  no  inference  can  be  safely 
drawn  as  to  the  depth  to  which  an  iceberg  extends 
from  the  surface  with  reference  to  its  height  above  it, 
and  that  all  depends  on  its  form.     *     *     *     In  cor- 


^*^ Narrative  of  a    Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.  I.,  pat^es  144-168;  Vol. 
II.,  pages  273-280. 

^'^  Narrative  of  a  Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  300-306. 
^'^  Narrative  of  a  Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  pages  142-143. 


FOSTER,    BROWN.  I  I  7 

roboration  of  this  I  may  further  observe,  that  while 
we  were  in  contact  with  the  iceberg  off  the  island,  we 
determined  its  htight  by  a  reference  to  the  vessel's 
mast  to  be  not  less  than  fifty  feet.  Now  this  would 
have  required  a  depth  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
to  lloat  in,  according  to  the  conclusion  deduced  from 
a  cubical  piece  ;  but  it  was  floating  in  ninety-six  feet ; 
for  we  obtained  soundings  at  the  same  time  with  six- 
teen fathoms  of  line."  These  observations  of  Dr. 
Webster  deserve  to  be  better  known,  for  even  to-day, 
apparently,  it  is  often  believed  that  the  height  of  an 
iceberof  above  water  is  six  or  seven  times  less  than 
its  depth  under  water  ;  and  Dr.  Webster,  it  would 
seem,  was  the  first  to  note  that  this  was  not  always 
the  case. 

Captain  James  Brown,^*^  an  American  sealer,  made 
a  southern  voyage  in  1829-1831  in  the  schooner 
"  Pacific."  He  reported  sighting  four  islands  which, 
at  the  time,  were  not  charted.  The  first,  in  56°  18' 
south  latitude,  28°  35'  west  longitude,  he  called  Pot- 
ter's Island.  The  second,  in  55°  55'  south  latitude, 
27°  53'  west  longitude,  he  named  Prince's  Island. 
The  third,  in  56°  25'  south  latitude,  27°  43'  west 
longitude,  he  christened  Willey's  Island ;  and  the 
fourth,  in  57°  49'  south  latitude,  27°  38'  west  longi- 
tude, he  called  Christmas  Island. 

'Tanning,  Edmund:  Voyages  Rou7id  the  World,  etc.,  pages 
440-442. 


I  1 8  ANTARCTICA. 

Mr.  John  Biscoe,^**^  in  1S30-1832,  with  the  brig 
"Tula"  and  the  cutter  "Lively,"  both  ships  belonging 
to  the  Messrs.  Enderby,  circumnavigated  Antarctica, 
sailing  eastward.  In  November,  1830,  he  searched  in 
vain  for  the  Aurora  Islands.  On  January  7th,  1 831,  in 
59°  35'  south  latitude,  20°  21'  west  longitude,  Biscoe 
was  stopped  by  smooth  pack  ice,  which  seemed  to 
have  been  formed  at  sea;  "nevertheless  there  were 
strone  indications  of  land  in  the  southwest."  On  the 
2 1  St,  in  66°  16'  south  latitude,  0°  24'  west  longitude, 
there  were  many  indications  of  land  to  the  south  and 
southeast.  On  February  ist,  Biscoe  was  in  68°  51' 
south  latitude,  12°  22'  east  longitude,  and  on  the  25th, 
in  66°  2'  south  latitude,  43°  54'  east  longitude,  where 
he  "saw  a  very  distinct  appearance  of  land."  "At 
length,  on  the  27th,  in  lat.  65°  57'  S.,  long.  47°  20'  E., 
land  was  distincdy  seen,  of  considerable  extent,  but 
closely  bound  with  field  ice."     Efforts  were  made  to 

'""  The  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London, 
Volume  the  Third,  1833,  pages  105-112: — VIII., — "Recent 
Discoveries  in  the  Antarctic  Ocean  "  :  From  the  Log-book  of  the 
Brig  Tula,  commanded  by  Mr.  John  Biscoe,  R.  N. :  Com- 
municated by  Messrs.  Enderby:  Read,  nth  February,  1833. 

The  Nautical  Magazine  for  1835,  Vol.  IV.,  Simpkin  and 
Marshall,  London,  pages  265-275:  "Voyage  of  the  Tula 
towards  the  South  Pole." 

The  Antarctic  Manual,  London,  Royal  Geographical  Society, 
1901,  pages  305-335  :  "  From  the  Journal  of  a  Voyage  towards 
the  South  Pole  on  board  the  brig  Tula,  under  the  command  of 
John  Biscoe,  with  the  cutter  '  Lively  '  in  company." 

It  is  nf)t  clear  from  the  accounts,  whether  a  Captain  Avery  or  a 
Captain  Weddcll  was  in  command  of  the  "  Lively." 


BISCOE.  I  1 9 

close  with  the  land,  but  owing  to  heavy  gales  the  ships 
were  driven  off.  On  March  1 6th,  however,  "  nearly 
the  same  land  was  again  made  ;  the  longitude  being 
now  49°  E.  A  head-land,  previously  seen,  was  recog- 
nized, and  called  Cape  Ann  ;  and  unceasing  efforts 
were  made,  for  some  days,  to  approach  nearer  it,  but 
all  in  vain."  On  April  6th,  Captain  Biscoe  finally 
turned  north  "  never  having  approached  this  forbidden 
land  (which  has,  with  great  propriety,  been  called 
Enderby's  Land),  nearer  than  from  twenty  to  thirty 
miles."  Biscoe  and  his  men  suffered  many  hardships 
on  this  most  creditable  voyage. 

Biscoe's  ideas  about  the  formation  of  icebergs 
are  the  exact  opposite  of  the  accepted  views  on 
the  subject,  although  it  must  be  added  that  he 
wrote  at  a  time  when  practically  nothing  was  known 
of  glacier  motion  :  it  seems  evident  also,  from  the 
following  passage,  that  he  had  no  suspicion  of  the 
probable  existence  of  an  antarctic  continent.  Bis- 
coe writes  :  ^^''  "  But  of  all  the  icebergs  I  have  seen, 
which  are  many  hundreds,  I  could  never  discern  the 
least  trace  of  their  having  ever  been  connected  with 
land,  and  had  formed  the  opinion  in  my  mind  that 
they  originated  from  a  vast  body  of  ice,  frozen  on 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  accumulating  with 
time,  and  I  should  have  regretted  much  had  I  been 
obliged  to  leave  these  southern  parallels,  from  the 
advanced   state   of    the    season,    without    satisfying 

'"  The  Anlarctic  Manual,  London,  1901,  pages  320,  321. 


1 20  ANTARCTICA. 

myself  in  this  particular,  and  having  seen  nothing 
but  the  field  ice.  However,  this  morning  has  com- 
pletely satisfied  me  in  this  respect,  for  I  have  not 
the  least  doubt  that  the  whole  spaces,  from  the 
latitudes  I  have  visited  to  the  Pole,  are  one  solid 
mass ;  land  may  intervene,  or  winds,  where  they 
are  strong  and  prevalent,  may  have  prevented  its 
forming  in  some  parts  more  than  others  '''  *  * 
As  to  the  icebergs  being  formed  on  shore,  I  do  not 
think  it  possible  or  probable  for  this  reason,  their 
own  weight  would  prevent  their  accumulating  on 
any  prominent  part  of  land.  It  would  break  off  at 
different  times  and  form  what  is  called  field-ice, 
for  should  it  once  become  so  extensive  a  mass  as 
an  iceberg,  and  which  could  only  be  when  there 
was  shallow  water,  it  is  utterly  impossible  it  could 
ever  separate  from  the  land  where  it  was  first 
formed,  as  it  is  well  known  that  ice  swims  at  least 
two-thirds  under  water,"  etc. 

Biscoe  sailed  again  south  from  New  Zealand  in 
January,  1832.  He  bore  away  southeast.  On  the 
25th,  he  was  in  60°  45'  south  latitude,  132°  7'  west 
longitude;  on  February  3d,  in  65°  32'  south  latitude, 
114°  9'  west  longitude;  and  on  the  12th,  in  66°  27' 
south  latitude,  81°  50'  west  longitude  ;  in  all  of  which 
positions  much  ice  was  seen.  On  February  15th,  in 
67°  I'  south  latitude,  71°  48'  west  longitude,  land  was 
seen;  this  was  called  Adelaide  Island;  "and  in  the 
course  of  the  ensuing  fortnight,  it  was  further  made 


BISCOE,    REA.  121 

out  to  be  the  westernmost  of  a  chain  of  islands,  lying 
E.  N.  E.  and  W.  S.  W.,  and  fronting  a  high  continu- 
ous land,  since  called  Graham's  Land,  which  Captain 
Biscoe  believes  to  be  of  great  extent.  The  range  of 
islands  has  been  also  since  called  Biscoe's  Range, 
after  the  discoverer."'^  "On  the  21st  of  February 
Captain  Biscoe  succeeded  in  landing  on  what  he  calls 
the  main  land."  The  mountains  here  were  named 
Mount  Moberly  and  Mount  William,  the  latter  in  64° 
45'  south  latitude,  63°  51'  west  longitude.  Biscoe  then 
repaired  to  the  South  Shetlands,  where  he  met  the 
schooner  "Exquisite"  of  London,  Captain  Kellock, 
and  Biscoe  afterwards  returned  to  England.  '*^ 

Lieutenant  Rea,'*'  R.  N.,  in  1 832-1 833,  set  out  with 
two  ships  belonging  to  the  Messrs.  Enderby,  to  con- 
tinue Biscoe's  researches.  Biscoe  was  to  command 
the  expedition,  but  he  could  not  go.  Lieutenant 
Rea  did  not  get  beyond  the  South  Shedands,  where 

'**  Graham  Land  would  appear  to  have  been  reached  before  the 
year  1828,  by  Captain  Benjamin  Pendleton.     See  ante,  page  99. 

'"  Maps  of  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge, 
vol.  I.,  London,  Chapman  &  Hall,  1844:  (Harvard  Univ. 
Lib.).  Map  "  No.  6,  Circumjacent  the  South  Pole"  Baldwin  and 
Cradock,  1831,  shows  "L  of  Peter,  L  of  Alexander,  Palmer's 
Land."  It  goes  to  show  that  the  English  nomenclature  of  West 
Antarctica  was  accurate  and  just  until  the  voyage  of  Biscoe. 

'"Dumont  D'Urville  :   Voyage  au  Pole  Sud,  Vol.  IL,  page  25. 
D'Urville  says  he  got  his  information  from  Biscoe  himself. 
The  Antarctic  Manual,  London,  1901,  page  519. 


122  ANTARCTICA. 

one  of  his  ships  was  crushed,  while  the  other  barely 
escaped  a  similar  fate. 


Lieutenant  Binstead,  R.  N.,  with  the  "Hopewell," 
Mr.  Foxton  navigating  officer,'-'^  and  the  "Rose,"  left 
the  Falkland  Islands  at  the  end  of  December,  1833, 
and  sailed  south  in  between  about  10°  and  20°  west 
longitude.  The  ships  were  beset  with  icebergs  in  65° 
south  latitude,  but  escaped,  and  "as  we  approached 
70  degrees  south  we  saw  high  land  covered  with 
snow,  and  in  our  endeavor  to  approach  it  we  became 
again  blocked  in."  The  "Rose"  soon  after  was 
crushed  and  sank,  but  the  crew  escaped  to  the  "  Hope- 
well," which  then  returned  to  the  Falkland  Islands, 
reaching  them  at  the  end  of  February,  1834. 

The  land  sighted  on  this  voyage  does  not  seem  to  be 
charted.^*-  The  reminiscences  of  Mr.  Foxton,  written 
from  memory  sixty  years  after  the  event,  are  neces- 
sarily vague,  and  there  may  easily  be  some  error  in 

"'  Transaclio7is  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  Austral- 
asia, Victorian  Branch,  Melbourne,  Vol.  X.,  1893,  pages  58- 
62  : — Foxton,  J.  G.  :  "  Notes  on  a  long  forgotten  Antarctic  voy- 
age in  1833"  :  (Amer.  Phil.  Soc). 

'"*  This  land  must  lie  somewhere  near  the  spot  to  which  Sir 
James  Clark.  Ross  penctrati-d  in  March  1843  ;  and  it  would  seem 
as  though  lie  must  have  known  of  Binstead's  discovery,  since 
the  latter  was  an  oflicer  in  the  Royal  Navy.  Ross,  however, 
does  not  mark  this  land  on  his  charts,  and,  judging  from  his 
general  habits  in  that  respect,  this  omission  might  be  cited  as 
an  a  priori  i)roof  of  the  existence  of  "  Binstcad-Foxton  Land." 


BINSTEAD,    KEM1\  123 

the  longitude,  still  his  account  is  noteworthy  because 
it  seems  to  be  the  only  report  of  land  in  that  portion 
of  the  Antarctic,  and  it  is  a  strong  hint  that  the  conti- 
nental mass  may  not  be  so  far  south  there  as  is  gener- 
ally assumed. 

In  1833,  an  English  sealer,  named  Kemp,  is  re- 
ported to  have  sighted  land  just  east  of  Enderby 
Land,  and  it  is  marked  "  Kemp  Land "  on  most 
atlases.  Although  Kemp's  course  is  laid  down  on 
the  English  Admiralty  charts,  there  is,  apparently, 
no  published  account  of  his  journey.^^^ 

'"The  sum  total  of  added  knowledge  in  these  sixty  years, 
judging  from  Hugh  Murray's  The  Eyicyclopcsdia  of  Geography 
(Philadelphia,  Carey,  Lea  and  Blanchard,  1837,  Vol.  III.,  pages 
172-173),  had  led  to  a  general  belief  in  1837,  that  round  the 
South  Pole  was  an  archipelago  of  islands,  and  not  a  continental 
mass.  Murray  refers  to  the  Antarctic  under  the  title  "South 
Polar  Islands,"  and  begins  ;  "The  Islands  of  the  Southern  Polar 
Sea,  to  which  Monsieur  Balbi  gives  the  somewhat  too  pompous 
title  of  Antarctic  Archipelago,  extending  chiefly,"  etc.  He  says 
also:  "In  1831,  Captain  Biscoe  fell  in  with  land,  in  66°  S.  lat. 
and  47°  E.  long.,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Enderby  Land, 
and  which  he  conceives  to  be  of  considerable  extent.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year,  he  touched  upon  another  coast  of  uncertain  extent, 
in  about  the  same  latitude,  and  in  long.  70°  W.  To  this  latter 
tract  has  been  given  the  name  of  Graham  Land."  This  para- 
graph of  Murray's  is  interesting,  for  it  proves  that  the  discovery 
of  Enderby  Land  did  not,  at  the  time,  give  to  geographers  any 
idea  of  a  South  Polar  Continent,  but  only  that  another  island 
had  been  found.  My  attention  was  called  to  Murray's  work  by 
Mr.  Edward  E.  Hale's  Stories  of  Discovery,  Boston,  Roberts 
Brothers,  1887. 


1 24  ANTARCTICA. 

Mr.  John  Balleny,  an  English  sealer,  sailed  from 
Chalky  Bay,  New  Zealand,  on  January  7th,  1839, 
widi  die  schooner  "  Eliza  Scott,"  and  the  cutter 
"Sabrina.""^  He  worked  his  way  south,  westward 
of  170°  east  longitude,  and  on  February  ist  was  in 
69°  south  latitude,  172°  11'  east  longitude,  where 
the  pack  was  so  thick  that  he  turned  north.  On 
February  9th,  he  discovered  three  islands  in  66°  22' 
south  latitude,  163°  49'  east  longitude,  landed  on  one 
of  them  on  February  12th,  and  found  that  it  was 
volcanic  in  origin. 

From  these  islands,  since  appropriately  called  the 
Balleny  Islands,  Balleny  worked  up  northward  and 
then  westward.     He  met  with   a   good   deal   of  ice. 

McNab's  "Log"  says  on  February  26:  "At  8  it 
cleared  off  a  litde  to  the  N.  E.  Thought  we  saw  the 
land  :  tacked  and  stood  for  it.  At  1 1.30,  made  it  out 
to  be  fog  hanging  over  some  iceberg.     At  noon,  ditto 

'**  The  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London, 
Volume  the  Ninth,  1839,  pages  517-528,  VI.:  "Discoveries  in 
the  Antarctic  Ocean,  in  February,  1839"  :  Extracted  from  the 
Journal  of  the  Schooner  "  Eliza  Scott,"  commanded  by  Mr.  John 
Balleny  :  communicated  by  Charles  Enderby,  Esq. 

A  brief  note  about  the  claims  of  Balleny  as  a  discoverer  is 
found  in  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  Lon- 
don, Vol.  II.,  1858,  pages  171,  172: — Charles  Enderby:  "Note 
on  Sabrina  Land,"  etc. 

Tlu:  Antarctic  Manual,  London,  Royal  Geographical  Society, 
1 901,  pages  348-359  :  "  Extract  from  the  Log  of  the  Schooner 
'  Eliza  Scott,'  Captain  John  Balleny,  while  S.  of  55°  S.  Latitude, 
kept  Ijy  John  McNab,  Second  Mate." 


BALLENY.  12$ 

weather.  Latitude,  observation,  64°  40'  S.  ;  longitude 
by  account,  131°  35'  E.  Tliick  fog,  with  snow  and 
sleet." 

Balleny's  "Journal"  says: — 

"Marc/i  isi. — With  a  steady  breeze  from  the 
S.  E.  continued  standing  to  the  westward — passed 
several  icebergs,  and  numerous  flocks  of  penguins, 
petrels,  and  mutton  birds. 

"March  2nd,  A.  M. — Squally  from  the  S.  E.,  with 
snow  and  sleet.  At  8  cleared  off  a  little.  At  noon, 
lat.  obs.  64°  58',  long.  121°  8',  therm.  35°.  P.  M., 
Strong  winds,  and  showers  of  snow  and  sleet;  saw 
a  great  many  birds.  At  8,  the  water  becoming 
smooth  all  at  once,  shortened  sail,  and  hove-to. 
Saw  land  to  the  southward,  the  vessel  surrounded 
by  drift  ice.     At  midnight  strong  breezes  with  snow. 

"March,  jrd,  A.  M. — Found  the  ice  closing  and 
becoming  more  compact ;  stood  through  the  drift 
ice  to  the  southward.  At  8  h.  found  ourselves  sur- 
rounded by  icebergs  of  immense  size ;  to  the  S.  W. 
the  ice  was  quite  fast,  with  every  appearance  of 
land  at  the  back  of  it,  but  the  weather  coming 
on  thick,  were  obliged  to  steer  to  the  northward 
along  the  edge  of  the  pack.  At  noon,  lat.  by  obs. 
65°  10',  long.  117°  4'.  P.  M.,  Fresh  breezes  from  the 
S.  S.  E.  and  clear;    numerous  icebergs  in  sight." 

The  three  sentences  :  "  Thought  we  saw  the  land," 
"  saw  land  to  the  southward  "  and  "  the  ice  was  quite 
fast,  with  every  appearance  of  land  at  the  back  of  it," 


126  ANTARCTICA. 

are  the  only  references  to  the  great  mass  of  land 
south  of  Australia.  Balleny  never  suggested  nor 
probably  even  suspected  that  he  was  on  the  edge 
of  a  continent,  or  that  he  had  sighted  anything  but 
another  island.  That  no  one  in  England,  at  the  time, 
thought  the  matter  of  any  importance  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  the  editor  of  The  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  placed  as  running  heading  at 
the  top  of  page  525:  "Sturge  Island — Brown's 
Peak — Borradaille  Island."  Three  of  the  Balleny 
Isles  !  There  is  nothing  about  Sabrina  Land  !  This 
does  not,  however,  alter  the  fact,  and  there  appears 
to  be  no  doubt  that  Balleny  had  a  glimpse  of  the 
mainland  of  East  Antarctica. 

Balleny  continued  on  a  westerly  course.  On  March 
13th  he  wrote  :  "Light  variable  winds  from  the  east- 
ward ;  surrounded  by  icebergs  :  in  lat.  61°,  long.  103° 
40',  passed  within  a  i^  of  a  mile  of  an  iceberg  about 
300  feet  high,  with  a  block  of  rock  attached  to  it."  "^ 

""  The  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London, 
Vol.  the  Nintli,  1839,  pages  528-529: — Charles  Darwin:  VI. 
"  Note  on  a  Rock  seen  on  an  Iceberg  in  61°  South  Latitude." 
Darwin  thinks  such  transported  boulders  are  rare  in  the  Antarctic, 
but  that  nevertheless,  "the  bottom  of  the  Antarctic  Sea,  and 
the  shores  of  its  islands,  must  already  be  scattered  with  masses  of 
foreign  rock,^ — the  counterpart  of  the  'erratic  boulders'  of  the 
northern  hemisjihere."  Darwin  mentions  Sabrina  Land — named 
after  the  cutter,  which  I  believe  was  lost  on  the  home  voyage — 
and  thus  jiroves  that  the  name  was  given  shortly  after  the  return 
of  Balleny  to  England  :  ' '  The  part  of  the  ocean  where  the  ice- 
berg was  seen  is  450  miles  distant  from  Sabrina  land  (if  such 
land  exists),  and  1400  miles  from  any  certainly  known  land." 


BALI.ENY,    DUMONT-D  URVILLE.  1 27 

About  this  his  editor  commented  as  follows:  "We 
will,  therefore,  only  add  that  this  iceberg  was  distant 
1400  miles  from  the  nearest  certainly-hiown  land, 
namely,  Enderby's  Land,  which  bore  W.  S.  W.  of  it. 
But  it  is  highly  probable  from  the  compact  nature  of 
the  ice,  etc.,  that  land  extends  between  the  parallels 
of  66°  and  68°  S.,  in  which  case  the  iceberg  would  not 
be  distant  above  300  miles  from  this  supposed  land. 
The  appearance  of  land  seen  by  Captain  Balleny  on 
the  3rd  of  March,  as  above  mentioned,  bore  from 
the  iceberg  E.  S.  E.,  distant  450  miles."  Balleny 
then  returned  to  England,  apparently  without  mak- 
ing any  stops,  so  that  his  discovery  could  not  have 
been  known  to  either  Wilkes  or  D'Urville  when  they 
sailed. 

Captain  Jules  Sebastien  Cesar  Dumont-D'Urville^^ 
in  January,  1838,  with  the  "Astrolabe"  and  Captain 
Jacquinot,  with  the  "Zelee,"  sailed  southward  from 
the  Strait  of  Magalhaes.  On  January  15th,  they 
found  the  first  icebergs,  in  about  59°  30'  south  lati- 
tude. On  January  2  2d,  in  about  64°  south  latitude, 
due  south  of  the  Powell  Islands,  they  were  stopped 
by  an  icy  barrier  extending  along  the  entire  horizon. 

'"  Voyage  au  Pole  Sud  et  dans  I '  Ocianie,  sur  les  corvettes 
r Astrolabe  et  la  Zilie,  sous  le  commandement  de  M.  J.  Du- 
mont-D'Urville,  capitaine  de  vaisseau  :  Public-  par  ordonnance 
de  Sa  Majesty,  sous  la  direction  sup^rieure  de  M.  Jacquinot, 
capitaine  de  vaisseau:  Paris,  Gide  et  Cie.,  6diteurs,  1 845-1 847, 
etc.  :   (Acad.  Nat.  Sci. ,  Philadelphia;  Pub.  Lib.,  Boston). 


128  ANTARCTICA. 

The  corvettes  followed  the  Hne  of  the  pack  for  more 
than  two  hundred  kilometers,  coming  back  to  6i° 
south  latitude,  north  of  the  Powell  Islands.  D'Ur- 
ville  wished  to  follow  the  tracks  of  Weddell,  and, 
therefore,  turned  once  more  southeast,  when  he 
again  met  an  icy  barrier  between  62°  and  63°  south 
latitude.  In  trj'ing  to  break  through  the  pack,  the 
vessels  were  nipped,  and  for  five  days  were  in  a 
good  deal  of  danger.  Finally,  a  strong  southerly 
gale  opened  the  pack  somewhat,  and  with  the  help 
of  saws  and  axes,  they  succeeded  in  breaking  loose. 
On  February  15th,  D'Urville  returned  westward,  ex- 
amined again  the  Powell  Islands  and  some  of  the 
Shetlands,  and  then  succeeded  in  getting  a  little 
further  south,  where  between  63°  and  64°  south  lat- 
itude he  sailed  over  a  hundred  kilometers  along  the 
coast  of  Palmer  Land,  which  he  renamed  Louis- 
Phillippe  Land  and  Joinville  Land,  although  it  had 
been  previously  visited  by  Palmer  and  Johnson,  and 
the  entire  northern  coast  charted  with  some  accu- 
racy, from  the  reports  of  Palmer,  by  Powell.  Scurvy 
having  broken  out  on  D'Urville's  ships,  he  then  re- 
turned north. 

D'Urville  mixed  up  the  nomenclature  of  West 
Antarctica.  He  simply  wrote  Trinity  Land  on  Pal- 
mer Land,  and  moved  Palmer  Land  into  Gerlache 
Strait,  so  as  to  get  room  for  his  own  names.  It  has 
been  already  explained  that  as  Palmer  was  the  first 
on  this  coast,  his  name  ought  certainly  to  be  com- 


DUMONT-D  URVILLE.  1 29 

memorated.  It  is  also  reasonably  certain  that  Rob- 
ert Johnson  and  other  sealers  had  visited  portions 
of  this  coast.  The  names  given  by  D'Urville,  how- 
ever, of  Joinville  Island,  Orleans  Channel''*'  and 
Louis  Phillippe  Land  will  probably  endure :  the 
latter  extending  from  Joinville  Island  to  about 
Orleans  Channel,  that  is  to  the  eastern  extremity 
of  Palmer  Archipelago,  and  by  general  agreement 
south  to  Cape  Foster  and  Cape  Seymour. 

Two  years  later,  D'Urville  made  another  cruise 
south. ''^  He  started  from  Hobart  Town  on  January 
ist,  1840.  On  January  i6th  the  watch  signalled  the 
first  ice ;  on  the  1 8th,  they  had  reached  64°  south  lati- 
tude; on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  six  enormous  ice 
islands  were  floating  round  them  ;  finally,  about  three 
o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  19th,  Monsieur  Ger- 
vaize,  who  was  on  watch,  noticed  "a  grey  spot,  which 
appeared  stationary;'''-'  but  already  we  had  so  often 
been  led  into  error  by  these  false  appearances,  so 
frequent  in  these  regions,  that  we  had  become  very 
suspicious.  Monsieur  Dumoulin,  who  was  on  deck, 
occupied  at  that  instant  in  charting  the  various  ice- 
islands  which  were  in  sight,  hastened  to  ascend  the 
rigging  so  as  to  clear  up  all  doubts  ;  he  assured  him- 
self that  the  indications  noted  by  Monsieur  Gervaize 

"'  Orleans  Channel  was  discovered  by  Palmer  and  charted  by 
Powell.     See  ante,  page  94. 

*"  Voyage  au  Pole  Sud,  etc..  Tome  Huiti^me,  pages  123-185. 

'"  Voyage  au  Pole  Sud,  etc.,  Tome  Huitidme,  page  136. 


1 30  ANTARCTICA. 

had  reference  to  a  cloud,  which,  seen  from  the  height 
of  die  mizzen  top,  appeared  to  be  above  the  horizon. 
On  descending,  he  announced  to  me  besides,  tliat 
straight  in  front  of  us,  there  was  an  appearance  of 
land  much  more  distinct  and  more  noticeable  ;  it  was, 
in  fact,  Adelie  Land.  Thanks  to  this  circumstance, 
Monsieur  Dumoulin  was  the  first  one  of  us  all  who 
saw  the  land." 

On  the  20th,  owing  to  lack  of  wind,  they  could  not 
get  any  nearer  to  the  coast,  and  there  remained,  on 
the  "Astrolabe,"  more  than  one  doubter  as  to  its 
existence.  But  at  midday  all  uncertainty  ceased,  as 
a  boat  sent  from  the  "Zelee,"  announced  that  since 
the  day  before  they  also  had  seen  land.  On  the  21st, 
a  light  wind  enabled  the  ships  to  close  in  with  the 
shore.  As  they  progressed,  ice  islands  became  more 
numerous,  and  by  eight  o'clock  the  corvettes  were 
so  hemmed  in  by  these  enormous  masses  of  ice, 
that  D'Urville  feared  every  instant  seeing  his  ships 
wrecked.  During  the  day,  however,  they  worked 
their  way  through  until  they  were  in  a  sniiill 
(Finer)  bay : 

"  The  land  which  was  in  sight  now  showed  us 
the  few  accidents  it  presented  :""*  it  stretched  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  see  to  the  southeast  and  to 
the  northwest,  and  in  these  two  directions  we 
could  not  see  its  limits.  It  was  entirely  covered 
willi    snow,    and    it    miglit    have    a    height    of    1000 

*"  Voyage  an  Pole  Sud,  etc..  Tome  Huiiicnie,  pages  143-145. 


DUMONT-D  URVILLE.  131 

to  1 200  meters.  At  no  place  did  it  show  any 
rising  summit.  At  no  place  either  could  one  see 
any  spot  indicating  the  soil,  and  one  might  have 
thought  that  we  had  arrived  before  an  ice-barrier 
still  bigger  than  all  those  we  had  already  met,  if 
we  could  have  been  able  to  admit  that  ice-barriers 
ever  could  reach  such  a  prodigious  height.  Its  shore 
showed  everywhere  a  vertical  cliff  of  ice,  similar  to 
those  we  had  observed  in  the  floating  islands  we 
had  been  sailing  past.  This  aspect  of  the  coast 
was  so  exactly  alike  to  the  one  which  these  float- 
ing bergs  had  shown  us,  that  we  did  not  retain  the 
least  doubt  as  to  the  formation  of  these  latter.  More- 
over, on  several  points  of  the  shore,  we  could  see 
besides  a  good  number  of  floating  islands,  which 
seemed  barely  separated  from  the  land  where  they 
had  formed  and  to  be  awaiting  only  the  influence  of 
the  winds  and  of  the  currents  to  go  out  to  sea.  The 
elevated  parts  of  the  land  showed  everywhere  an 
uniform  tint ;  they  ended  at  the  sea  by  a  gently 
inclined  slope ;  thanks  to  this  arrangement  we  could 
see  a  pretty  considerable  stretch  of  country.  At 
several  points,  we  noticed  that  the  snows  which 
covered  the  soil  showed  a  broken  and  irregular 
surface.  One  could  perceive  regular  waves,  like 
those  which  the  winds  dig  in  sand  deserts.  It  was 
especially  in  the  least  protected  portions  that  these 
accidents  appeared  strongest.  At  other  spots,  this 
crust  of  ice  seemed  also  traversed  by  ravines  or  cut 


132  ANTARCTICA. 

out  by  the  waters.  The  sun  shone  in  all  its  splen- 
dor and  added  greatly  to  the  already  so  imposing 
aspect  of  this  mass  of  ice.  With  our  glasses  we 
examined  at  every  instant  this  mysterious  land, 
whose  existence  it  seemed  could  no  longer  be  con- 
tested, but  which  had  not  offered  to  us  as  yet  any 
absolutely  certain  proof  of  its  existence."™' 

Suddenly,  however,  some  black  spots  were  seen 
by  Monsieur  Duroch  in  the  bay,  and  these  turned 
out  to  be  several  small  islands.  Boats  were  sent 
from  both  corvettes,  and  some  members  of  the  expe- 
dition landed  on  one  of  the  islands,  on  which  they 
ran  up  the  tricolore  flag,  and  of  which  they  took 
possession,  as  well  as  of  the  adjoining  coast,  in  the 
name  of  France.  The  ceremony  was  concluded  by 
drinking  a  bottle  of  Bordeaux  wine.  The  little 
island  was  a  bare  rock  and  did  not  offer  the 
slightest  trace  of  lichens.  The  animal  kinodom  was 
represented  only  by  penguins,  and  not  a  single  shell 
was  found.  "Up"*'  till  then  and  during  the  whole  time 
when  there  misfht  have  been  doubts,  I   had  not  been 

""  Sir  Clements  R.  Markham,  in  the  Evcyclopeedia  Britannica, 
ninth  edition,  American  reprint,  1885,  article  "Polar  Regions," 
says:  "In  1839  the  French  expedition  under  Dumont  d'Urville 
proceeded  south  from  Tasmania  and  discovered  two  small  islands 
on  the  Antarctic  Circle  named  '  Terre  Adelie'  and  '  C6te  Clarie.'  " 
It  would  be  interestintj  to  know  on  what  authority  Sir  C.  R. 
Markham  bases  his  statement  that  Ad<':lie  Land  and  C6te  Clarie 
are  small  islands. 

""Voyage  au  Pole  Stid,  etc.,  Tome  Huitiiime,  page  154. 


DUMONT-D  URVILLE.  1 33 

willing  to  give  a  name  to  this  discovery,  but  on  the 
return  of  our  boats  I  christened  it  '  Adelie  Land.' 
The  most  prominent  cape  which  we  had  seen  dur- 
ing the  morning,  at  the  time  we  were  trying  to  get 
nearer  to  the  land,  received  the  name  of  Cap  de  la 
Decouvcrte.  The  point  near  which  the  boats  landed, 
and  where  they  were  able  to  collect  geological  speci- 
mens, was  called  Pointe  Geologie" 

A  tremendous  storm  arose  shortly  afterwards,  and 
the  ships  were  in  danger,  but  succeeded  in  reaching 
open  water.  After  the  storm  had  ceased,  they  re- 
turned again  south,  but  further  west,  and  on  the  29th, 
nearly  off  Cape  Carr,  met  the  U.  S.  S.  "Porpoise," 
Commander  Ringgold,  but  owing  to  a  misunderstand- 
ing, they  did  not  communicate.  On  the  30th,  the 
French  ships  sailed  for  a  distance  of  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  leagues,  along  a  wall  of  ice  which  was  from  thirty 
to  forty-five  meters  high.  This  ice  bluff  was  too 
elevated  to  permit  the  explorers  to  distinguish  the 
details  of  the  interior:  "  Thus,^"'  for  more  than  twelve 
hours,  we  had  followed  this  wall  of  ice  which  was 
perfectly  vertical  on  its  sides  and  horizontal  on  its 
top.  Not  an  irregularity,  not  the  slightest  promi- 
nence broke  this  uniformity  during  the  twenty  leagues 
which  were  sailed  over  during  the  day.  As  for  the 
nature  of  this  enormous  wall,  as  about  the  appear- 
ance of  Adelie    Lantl,  opinions  were  again  various  ; 

^Voyage  au   Pdle   Sud,  etc.,   Tome   Huitieme,   pages   175- 
177. 


1 34  ANTARCTICA. 

some  held  that  it  was  a  compact  mass  of  ice  inde- 
pendent of  any  land,  others,  and  I  share  this  opin- 
ion, contended  that  this  formidable  belt  was  at  least 
an  envelope,  a  crust,  to  a  solid  base,  either  of  earth, 
or  rocks,  or  even  of  high  placed  shallows  spread  out 
around  a  great  land.  In  this,  I  always  base  myself 
on  the  principle  that  no  ice  of  great  size  can  form 
in  the  open  sea,  and  that  it  always  needs  a  solid  sup- 
porting position  to  enable  it  to  be  fixed  in  a  definite 
spot.  However  this  may  be,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  I  started  to  the  southwest,  after  having 
christened  the  ice  barrier  we  had  just  examined.  Cote 
Clarie."  D'Urville  stood  north  from  here,  and  on 
February  17th,  reached  once  more  Hobart  Town. 

D'Urville's  cruise  is  important.  His  narrative  is 
so  lucid  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  comment  at  length 
on  it.  It  may  be  well,  however,  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  both  Wilkes  and  D'Urville  saw  this 
part  of  Wilkes  Land,  and  that  the  narratives  and 
the  charts  of  the  two  explorers  tally  in  all  respects. 
Wilkes,  however,  saw  even  more  than  did  D'Urville, 
for  Wilkes,  as  his  chart  shows,  hugged  and  sighted 
the  coast  between  Finer  Bay  and  Cape  Carr. 
Wilkes  also  sighted  the  snowy  heights  of  the  main- 
land back  of  the  ice  cliffs  of  Cote  Clarie,  whilst 
D'Urville  saw  only  the  ice  cliffs.  It  was  these  snowy 
heights  which  Wilkes  called  Cape  Carr,  and  the  ice 
cliffs  which  D'Urville  called  Cote  Clarie.  I  lay  stress 
on  this  point,  because  all  the  maps  I  have  seen  have 


DUMONT-D  URVILLE,    WILKES.  I35 

"Cote  Clarie  "  on  the  land  and  "  Cape  Carr  "  on  the 
ocean  (when  they  mark  them  at  all),  and  the  reverse 
should  be  the  case. 

D'Urville  does  not  seem  to  give  any  reasons  for 
making  this  southern  cruise,  but — especially  when 
we  think  of  the  crazy  old  tubs  he  commanded — he 
must  be  credited  as  having  carried  out  a  daring 
and  successful  journey. 

Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N.,^*  command- 
ing the  "  United  States  Exploring  Expedition"  ^"^  on 

"**  Charles  Wilkes,  of  English  parentage,  was  born  in  the  City 
of  New  York  on  the  3d  of  April,  1798.  He  was  appointed  Mid- 
shipman in  the  United  States  Navy  in  1818,  and  became  Lieuten- 
ant in  1826.  In  1838,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition,  with  the  acting  rank  of  Commander. 
After  his  return  to  New  York  on  June  loth,  1842,  he  published 
his  account  of  the  exploration,  and  received  the  gold  medal  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London.  On  November  8th, 
1 86 1,  while  in  command  of  the  "San  Jacinto,"  he  intercepted 
the  English  mail  steamer  "  Trent  "  and  took  off  the  Confederate 
commissioners,  Mason  and  Slidell.  For  this.  Congress  passed  a 
resolution  of  thanks,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  sent  Wilkes 
an  emphatic  commendation.  In  1862,  Wilkes  commanded  the 
James  River  flotiUa,  shelled  City  Point,  Virginia,  and  on  July 
1 6th,  was  appointed  Commodore.  Then  he  commanded  the 
West  Indian  Flying  Squadron.  He  was  retired  for  age  in  1864, 
and  appointed  Rear  Admiral  in  1866.  He  died  at  his  home  in 
Washington  in  February  1877. 

*"  Wilkes,  Charles,  U.  S.  N. ,  Commander  of  the  Expedition  : 
Narrative  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expeditioji,  during 
the  years  1838,  1839,  1840,  1841,  1842;  Philadelphia,  Lea  & 
Blanchard,  1845. 


136  ANTARCTICA. 

a  voyage  around  the  world,^'"'  sailed  on  February 
25th,  1839,  from  Orange  Harbor,  Tierra  del  Fuego.™'' 
He  was  on  the  gun-brig  "  Porpoise,"  with  the  pilot  boat 
"Sea-Gull,"  1 10  tons,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  John- 
son, as  tender.  On  March  ist,  they  sighted  Ridley 
Island  in  the  South  Shetlands.     On  the  2d  they  made 

' '  Synopsis  of  the  cruise  of  the  U.  S.  Explori7ig  Expedition 
durifig  tlie  years  18 jS,  'jp,  '40,  '41,  &  '42,  delivered  before 
the  Natio7ial  Institute,  by  its  commander,  Charles  Wilkes,  Esq., 
071  the  tive7itieth  of  fu7ie  1842"  :  Washington,  Peter  Force,  1842  : 
(Harvard  Univ.  Lib.  ;    British  Museum). 

Defc7ice :  The  followi7ig  dcfc7ice  of  Lieut.  Charles  Wilkes  to 
the  charges  on  which  he  has  bce7i  tried  is  respectfully  sub7nitted 
to  the  Court:  Signed  Charles  Wilkes,  Lt.  U.  S.  N.  :  56  pages: 
(British  Museum  ;  Harvard  Univ.  Lib.).  This  paper  was  pub- 
lished, probably,  at  Washington  in  1S42. 

Wilkes,  Charles  :  "  Antarctic  Exploration  ;  letter  to  the  editor 
of  the  Ufiion  (Dated)  Washington,  Aug.  12,  1847,"  (Wash. -8°, 
1847,  7  pages).  This  paper  was  catalogued  in  the  Harvard 
University  Library,  but  it  has  been  lost  or  mislaid.  It  is,  I 
believe,  a  reply  to  the  animadversions  of  Sir  J.  C.  Ross. 

Colvoccorresses,  Lieut.  Geo.  M.  [Musalas],  U.  S.  Navy  :  Four 
Years  i7i  a  Government  Exploriytg  Expeditio7i,  New  York, 
Cornish,  Lamport  &  Co.,  1852:   (Lib.  Co.  Philadelphia). 

™  Miss  Carrell  {Harper's New  Mo7ithly  Magazi7ie,\o\.  XLIV., 
1871,  1872;  pages  60-64: — Carrell,  Miss  A.  E.  :  "The  First 
American  Exploring  Expedition,")  claims  that  Mr.  J.  N.  Rey- 
nolds was  the  originator  of  the  expedition. 

Ur.  Callahan  {folms  Hopkins  U7iivcrsity  Studies,  etc.,  Balti- 
more, March,  1901  : — Callahan,  James  Morton,  Ph.  D.  :  "Amer- 
ican Relations  in  the  Pacific  and  the  Far  East,"  Chapter  V., 
"The  United  States  Exploring  Expedition")  tells  a  good 
deal  of  the  preliminaries  which  led  to  the  sending  of  the  ex- 
pedition. 

^^  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  L,  pages  133-145, 


WILKES,    JOHNSON,    HUDSON,    WALKER.  1 37 

O'Brien,  Asplaiul,  and  Bridgeman  Islands.  On  the  3d 
they  sighted  Mount  Hope,  which  Wilkes  locates  as 
the  eastern  extremity  of  Palmer  Land,  in  63°  25'  south 
latitude,  57°  55'  west  longitude.  They  also  discovered 
three  small  islets,  which  Wilkes  christened  the  Adven- 
ture Islets.  There  were  many  icebergs  floating  about 
and  too  much  ice  along  the  coast  to  attempt  landing. 
The  "  Sea-Gull  "  returned  north  on  March  5th.  On  the 
7th  the  "  Porpoise  "  was  nearly  wrecked  on  some  high 
land,  which  proved  to  be  Elephant  Island.  This  was 
of  volcanic  appearance  and  its  valleys  were  filled 
with  ice  and   snow. 

On  February  25th,  also,  two  other  ships  of  the 
"  United  States  Exploring  Expedition "  sailed  from 
Orange  Harbor.-"'  These  were  the  "  Peacock,"  Captain 
Hudson,  and  the  "Flying  Fish,"  Lieutenant  William  M. 
Walker.^  On  March  i  ith  they  saw  the  first  iceberg. 
On  the  13th  their  position  was  in  64°  27'  south  latitude, 
84°  west  longitude.  On  the  14th  Captain  Hudson 
remarked  a  great  and  striking  change  in  the  weather, 
as  since  62°  south  latitude  it  had  become  much  more 
settled  and  free  from  the  sudden  squalls  and  constant 
gales  they  had  experienced  after  leaving  Cape  Hoorn. 

^"'Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  I.,  pages  149-161  ;  405-408; 
408-414. 

•^  Palmer,  J.  C,  U.  S.  N.  :  Thulta,  a  tale  of  the  Antarctic, 
New  York,  Samuel  Colman,  MDCCCXLIII :  (Lenox  Lib.  New 
York  City.)  This  is  a  short  poem  about  the  cruise  of  the 
"Flying  Fish":  the  appendix,  which  is  in  prose,  says  she 
reached   70"   14'  south  latitude. 


138  ANTARCTICA. 

On   the  17th  and    i8th,  however,    they  had  another 
heavy  gale.    On  the  20th  the  "  Flying  Fish  "  was  in  67° 
30'  south  latitude,  105°  west  longitude.    A  cast  of  the 
lead  showed  no  bottom  in  one  hundred  fathoms.     The 
water  was  much  discolored,  and  Lieutenant  Walker 
afterwards    observed    this  same  discoloration   of  the 
water  in  the  vicinity  of  extensive  masses  of  ice  :  he 
thought  it  might  possibly  be  produced  by  refraction. 
The  "Flying  Fish"  at  this  time  was  in  a  fog.     This 
lifted  and    disclosed  a    wall  of  ice    from  four  to  six 
meters  high,  extending  east  and  west  as   far  as  die 
eye  could  reach,  and  spreading  out  into  a  vast  and 
seemingly  boundless  field  to  the  south.     Some  float- 
ing ice  had  the  appearance  of    being  but  lately  de- 
tached from  the  land.     On  the  20th,  the  "Peacock" 
was    in    68°   south   latitude,  90°  west  longitude,  and 
obtained  a  sight   of  an   icy    barrier  of  field-ice   and 
icebergs.     On   the    21st,  the    "Flying  Fish"  was   in 
68°  41'  south  latitude,  103°  34'  west  longitude,   run- 
ning  among    ice-islands.     On    the    23d,   the   "Flying 
Fish"  reached  70°  south  latitude,    100°  16'  west  lon- 
gitude :  here  they  observed  an  appearance  of  land,-'" 
and    saw   large    masses    of    ice    and    numerous    ice- 
bergs.    They    then    turned    northward   and    on    the 
25lh    fell    in  with   the    "Peacock"  in  68°   south   lati- 
tude,  97°   58'  west  longitude.     Tiie   two   ships   tiicMi 
returned  together  to  Orange  Harbor. 

""Tlie  course  of  the  "  Uelgica  "  .shows  thai  |)iol)ably  there  is 
no  hmd  at  this  spot.     See  posl,  page  206. 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    WALKER.  T  39 

In  1839  and  1840,  Lieutenant  Wilkes  made  a  sec- 
ond cruise  to  the  Antarctic,  in  accordance  with  his 
Instructions,  from  the  Hon.  J.  K.  Paulding,  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  which  were  as  follows;-'^ 

"Navy  Department,  August  nth,   1838. 
*****  *  * 

"These  objects  will,  it  is  presumed,  occupy  you 
until  the  latter  end  of  October ;  and  when  attained  as 
far  as  may  be  possible,  you  will  proceed  to  the  port  of 
Sydney,  where  adequate  supplies  may  be  obtained. 
From  thence  you  will  make  a  second  attempt  to  pene- 
trate within  the  Antarctic  region,  south  of  Van 
Diemen's  Land,  and  as  far  west  as  longitude  45°  E.,  or 
to  Enderby's  Land,  making  your  rendezvous  on  your 
return  at  Kerguelen's  Land,  or  the  Isle  of  Desolation, 
as  it  is  now  usually  denominated,  and  where  you  will 
probably  arrive  by  the  latter  end  of  March,    1840." 

Wilkes'  squadron  was  composed  of  the  sloop  of  war 
"  Vincennes,"  780  tons,  under  his  own  command  ;  the 
sloop  of  war  "Peacock,"  650  tons,  Commander  Will- 
iam L.  Hudson  ;  the  gun  brig  "  Porpoise,"  230  tons, 
Lieutenant  Commander  Cadwalader  Ringgold  ;  and 
the  pilot  boat  "Flying  Fish,"  96  tons.  Lieutenant 
R.  F.  Pinkney.  None  of  these  vessels  was  suitable  for 
ice  work,  nor  was  the  expedition  properly  equipped 
fQj.212  <<jj.  maybe  borne  in  mind  that  our  vessels  had  no 

"■'^Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  I.,  page  XXVII. 
'"Wilkes:  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  298. 


1 40  ANTARCTICA. 

planking,  extra  fastening,  or  other  preparations  for 
these  icy  regions,  beyond  those  of  the  vessels  of  war 
in  our  service."  The  people  at  Sydney-'^  "inquired, 
whether  we  had  compartments  in  our  ships  to  prevent 
us  from  sinking?  How  we  intended  to  keep  ourselves 
warm?  What  kind  of  antiscorbutic  we  were  to  use? 
and  where  were  our  great  ice  saws  ?  To  all  of  these 
questions  I  was  obliged  to  answer,  to  their  great  ap- 
parent surprise,  that  we  had  none,  and  to  agree  with 
them  that  we  were  unwise  to  attempt  such  service  in 
ordinary  cruising  vessels;  but  we  had  been  ordered  to 
go,  and  that  was  enough,  and  go  we  should.  *  *  * 
The  tender  Flying  Fish  excited  their  astonishment 
more  than  the  ships,  from  her  smallness  and  peculiar 
rig ;  and,  altogether,  as  a  gentleman  told  me,  most  of 
our  visitors  considered  us  doomed  to  be  frozen  to 
death.  I  did  not  anticipate  such  a  fate,  although  I 
confess  I  felt  the  chances  were  much  against  us,  in 
case  we  were  compelled  to  winter  within  the  Ant- 
arctic. From  every  calculation  we  could  not  stow  quite 
twelve  months'  provision,  even  upon  short  allowance  ; 
our  fuel  was  inadequate  to  last  us  more  than  seven 
months,  and  the  means  of  protecting  ourselves  in  the 
ships  for  winter  quarters,  were  anything  but  suffi- 
cient." The  "  Peacock  "-''  was  in  especially  bad  con- 
dition,   for   her   sheer-streak,  to  which  the  channels 

'"Wilkes:  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  275. 
■■"'Letters  of  Mr.  Dibble,  carpenter,  and  Captain  Hudson:  Ahr- 
ralive  b.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  449. 


WILKES,    PINKNEY,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  I4I 

were  bolted  and  ports  hung,  was  perfectly  decayed, 
fore  and  aft,  and  all  the  stanchions  of  the  upper  deck 
bulwarks  were  either  rotten  or  in  an  advanced  state 
of  decay.  It  was,  therefore,  with  unsuitable  ships, 
improperly  equipped,  that  Wilkes  started  on  the 
cruise  which  resulted  in  the  great  discovery,  that  in 
the  Antarctic  there  is  a  mass  of  land  probably  con- 
tinental in  its  dimensions. 

The  expedition  started  from  Sydney  on  December 
26th,  1839.  The  tender  "Flying  Fish"  parted  com- 
pany with  it  on  January  ist,  1840,  and  cruised  by 
itself.-^^  On  the  21st  it  made  an  icy  barrier  in  65°  20' 
south  latitude,  159°  36'  east  longitude.  On  the  23d, 
in  65°  58'  south  latitude,  157°  49'  east  longitude,  they 
discovered  several  dark  spots,  which  they  made  out 
to  be  rocks.  After  this  they  cruised  along  the  ice 
barrier  until  February  5th,  when  they  were  in  66° 
south  latitude,  143°  east  longitude,  and  were  forced 
to  return  north  on  account  of  sickness. 

After  parting  company  with  the  "Flying  Fish,"  the 
other  ships  continued  their  course  south,  and  on 
January  7th,  1840,  were  in  54°  20'  south  latitude, 
and  160°  47'  east  longitude,  not  far  from  Macquarie 
Island.  On  the  loth  they  encountered  the  first  ice- 
berg. On  the  nth,  at  10.30  P.  M.,  in  60°  11'  south 
latitude,  164°  36'  east  longitude,  they  were  stopped 
by  a  compact  barrier  of  ice,  enclosing  large  square 
icebergs.     The  water  changed  to  an  olive  green  color. 

^^^  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  354-359. 


142  ANTARCTICA. 

J" 

On  the  13th,  in  65°  8'  south  latitude,  163°  east  longi- 
tude, they  came  up  to  an  icy  barrier.  "  Very  lofty 
ridges  of  ice,-'''  and  the  loom  usual  over  high  land, 
were  visible  along  the  southern  horizon,  over  the 
barrier.  *  *  *  From  appearances  to  the  south- 
ward, with  the  numerous  Phocae  proboscidae,  I  was 
strongly  impressed  with  the  belief  of  the  close 
approach  of  land."-''' 

"On  the  i6th-^^  the  three  vessels  were  in  longitude 
157°  46'  E.,  and  all  within  a  short  distance  of  each 
other.  ■■'•  ='=  -'^  On  this  day  (i6th  January)  ap- 
pearances believed  at  the  time  to  be  land  were 
visible  from  all  the  vessels,  and  the  comparison  of 
the  three  observations,  when  taken  in  connection 
with  the  more  positive  proofs  of  its  existence  after- 
wards obtained,  has  left  no  doubt  that  the  appear- 
ance was  not  deceptive.  From  this  day  therefore, 
we  date  the  discovery  which  is  claimed  for  the  squad- 
ron.    *    *     *     On   board   the    Peacock,    it  appears 

■■"'Ringgold's  Report:  Narrative  L.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page 
469. 

"'  The  Balleny  Islands  are  about  one  and  a  half  degrees  of  lati- 
tude south  of  the  spot  wiiere  the  Porpoise  was  on  January 
13th.  It  is  therefore  practically  certain  that  "the  loom  usual 
over  high  land"  was  caused  by  them.  Mr.  Borchgrevink 
{Gcoj^raphical  Journal,  Vol.  XVI.,  October,  1900,  page  3S1) 
also  appears  to  be  of  this  opinion,  for  he  says:  "I  had,  how- 
ever, purposely  taken  that  course  in  order  to  satisfy  myself 
respecting  the  land  rc|)orted  by  Captain  Wilkes,  and  which,  it 
seems  clear  to  me,  was,  in  reality,  Balleny." 

"'Wilkes:  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  292,  293. 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  I43 

that  Passed  Midsliipmen  Eld  and  Reynolds  both  saw 
the  land  from  tlie  masthead,  and  reported  it  to 
Captain  Hudson  :  he  was  well  satisfied  on  examina- 
tion that  the  appearance  was  totally  distinct  from 
that  of  ice  islands,  and  a  majority  of  the  officers  and 
men  were  also  saUsfied  that  if  land  could  exist,  that 
was  it.  *  *  '''  In  Passed  Midshipman  Eld's  jour- 
nal, he  asserts  that  he  had  been  several  times  to 
the  masthead  during  the  day,  to  view  the  barrier: 
that  it  was  not  only  a  barrier  of  ice,  but  one  of 
terra  firma.  Passed  Midshipman  Reynolds  and  him- 
self exclaimed,  with  one  accord,  that  it  was  land. 
Not  trusting  to  the  naked  eye,  they  descended  for 
spy-glasses,  which  confirmed,  beyond  a  doubt,  their 
first  impression.  The  mountains  could  be  distinctly 
seen,  over  the  field  ice  and  bergs,  stretching  to  the 
southwest  as  far  as  anything  could  be  discerned. 
Two  peaks,  in  pardcular,  were  very  distinct  (which 
I  have  named  after  those  two  officers,)  rising  in  a 
conical  form  ;  and  others,  the  lower  parts  of  which 
were  quite  as  distinct,  but  whose  summits  were  lost  in 
light  fleecy  clouds.  Few  clouds  were  to  be  seen  in 
any  other  direction,  for  the  weather  was  remarkably 
clear.  The  sun  shone  brightly  on  ridge  after  ridge, 
whose  sides  were  partially  bare ;  these  connected  the 
eminences  I  have  just  spoken  of,  which  must  be 
from  one  to  two  thousand  feet  high.  Mr.  Eld 
further  states,  that  on  reporting  the  discovery  to 
Captain    Hudson,   the   latter   replied   that  there   was 


144  ANTARCTICA. 

no  doubt  of  it,  and  that  he  believed  that  most  of  the 
icebergs  then  in  sight  were  aground.  At  this  time 
they  were  close  in  with  the  barrier,  and  could  approach 
no  nearer.  On  this  day,  the  Peacock  got  a  cast  of 
the  deep-sea  lead,  with  Six's  thermometer  attached, 
to  the  depth  of  eight  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms,  only 
a  short  distance  from  the  barrier ;  the  temperature 
of  the  surface  was  31°,  and  at  the  depth  sounded, 
31^°,  current  one  fourth  of  a  mile,  north  by  east." 
"  On  the  evening  of  the  16th,-"'  strong  appearances 
of  land  again  arose,  in  corroboration  of  which  I  insert 
an  extract  from  my  journal,  as  well  as  the  remarks 
from  the  log  book.  *  *  *  Extract  from  Journal. 
'  At  6  h.  30  m.  P.  M.  I  went  aloft  to  take  a  look,  the 
weather  being  clear,  horizon  good  and  clouds  lofty.  I 
heard  the  noise  of  a  penguin  ;  soon  after,  one  was  seen 
very  near  the  brig,  with  a  large  seal  to  windward. 
After  reaching  masthead,  I  saw  over  the  field  of  ice, 
an  object,  large,  dark  and  rounding,  resembling  a 
mountain  in  the  distance.  The  icebergs  all  were  bright 
and  brilliant,  and  in  great  contrast.  *  *  *  1 
watched  for  an  hour  to  see  if  the  sun  in  his  decline 
would  change  the  colour  of  the  object  by  a  difference 
of  rays :  it  remained  the  same,  with  a  white  cloud 
above,  similar  to  those  generally  hovering  over  high 
land  ;  at  sunset  it  remained  the  same.  I  took  the 
bearing  accurately,  intending  to  examine  it  closely  as 

"•Ringgold's   Report:    Narrative    U.    S.    E.    K,   Vol.  II., 
pages  469,  470. 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  1 45 

soon  as  I  got  a  breeze.  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion 
it  is  an  island,  surrounded  by  immense  fields  of  ice 
now  in  sight.'  *  *  *  Extract  from  Log.  '  7  P.  M. 
discovered  what  was  supposed  to  be  an  island,  bear- 
ing south-by-east, — a  great  deal  of  field  ice  in  sight. 
(Signed)  J.  H.  North.'  *  *  *  17th,  the  indications 
were  again  noticed,  corroborating  those  of  the  day 
preceding." 

"On  the  morning  of  the  igth.-'-^we  found  ourselves 
in  a  deep  bay,  and  discovered  the  Peacock  standing  to 
the  southwest.  Until  eight  o'clock,  A.  M.  we  had  a 
moderate  breeze.  The  water  was  of  a  darker  olive- 
green,  and  had  a  muddy  appearance.  Land  was  now 
certainly  visible  from  the  Vincennes,  both  to  the 
south-southeast  and  southwest,  in  the  former  direc- 
tion most  distinctly.  Both  appeared  high.  It  was 
between  eight  and  nine  in  the  morning  when  I  was 
fully  satisfied  that  it  was  certainly  land,  and  my  own 
opinion  was  confirmed  by  that  of  some  of  the  oldest 
and  most  experienced  seamen  on  board.  The  officer 
of  the  morning  watch.  Lieutenant  Alden,  sent  twice 
and  called  my  attention  to  it.  We  were  at  this  time 
in  longitude  154°  30'  E.,  latitude  66°  20'  S. ;  the  day 
was  fine,  and  at  times  quite  clear,  with  light  winds. 
After  divine  service,  I  still  saw  the  outline  of  the 
land,  unchanged  in  form  but  not  so  distinct  as  in  the 
morning.  By  noon,  I  found  we  were  sagging  on  to 
the  barrier;  the  boats  were  lowered  in  consequence, 

""Wilkes:  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  ^.,Vol.  II.,  pages  295,  296. 


146  ANTARCTICA. 

and  the  ship  towed  off.  The  report  from  aloft  was, 
'A  continued  barrier  of  ice  around  the  bay,  and  no 
opening  to  be  seen,  having  the  western  point  of  it 
bearine  to  the  northward  of  west  of  us.'  I  stood  to 
the  westward  to  pass  around  it,  fully  assured  that  the 
Peacock  would  explore  all  the  outline  of  the  bay." 
"  On  Sunday,  January  igth,"^  while  standing  into 
a  bay  of  ice,  in  latitude  66°  31'  S.,  and  longitude 
153°  40'  E.,  we  made  (what  we  believed  to  be)  land 
to  the  southward  and  westward.™    *     *    *    It  was 

"'Hudson's  Report:  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page 
465. 

'-^  The  proceedings  before  the  Court  Martial  held  after  the 
return  of  the  Exploring  Expedition  also  show  plainly  that  the 
officers  thought  they  saw  land  on  January  19,  and  that  Ring- 
gold must  have,  and  thought  he  must  have,  sighted  the  high 
mountain  of  the  Balleny  Isles  on  January  13.  Some  of  the  tes- 
timony of  the  officers  was  published  in  a  short  paper  which  was 
probably  printed  at  Washington  in  1842  :  Defence:  The  foUo'M- 
mg  defence  of  Lieut.  Charles  IVilkcs  to  the  charges  on  which 
he  has  been  tried  is  respectfully  stibmitted  to  the  Court :  Signed 
Charles  Wilkes,  Lt.  U.  S.  N.,  56  pages:  (British  Museum; 
Harvard  Univ.  Lib.) 

Page  26.  "  The  sixth  and  most  imirortant  charge  is  that  of 
scandalous  conduct  tending  to  the  destruction  of  good  morals." 

"The  first  specification  charges  me  with  uttering  a  deliberate 
and  wilful  falsehood,  in  the  following  words,  to  wit :  '  On  the 
morning  of  the  19th  of  January,  we  saw  land  to  the  southward 
and  eastward,  with  many  indications  of  being  in  its  vicinity, 
such  as  penguins,  seal,  and  the  discolouration  of  the  water,  but 
the  impenetrable  barriers  of  ice  prevented  our  nearer  approach 
to  it ; '  the  said  Lieut.  Charles  Wilkes  well  knowing  that  land 
to  the  southward  and  eastward  was  not  seen  on  said  morning 
as  asserted  by  him,"     *    *    * 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  1 47 

seen    towering    above  and  beyond   some  large  ice- 
bergs, tliat  were  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 

Pages  27-28:   "Lieut.  Ringgold  testifies  as  follows: 

"  Q.  Did  you  report  to  Lieut.  Wilkes  that  you  had  seen 
land  on  the  26th  of  January. 

"A.   No  I  did  not. 

"Q.   Did  you  not  see  the  land  prior  to  that  date? 

"A.  To  the  best  of  my  belief,  I  saw  it  on  the  13th  January, 
though  I  did  not  make  a  positive  report.  On  that  occasion  I  saw 
about  100  seal,  and  captured  two  as  specimens ;  and  from  the 
discolouration  of  the  water,  I  thought  the  indications  were  very 
strong.  I  tliink  I  sounded  with  287  fathoms,  but  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  getting  ground.  It  was  nearer  Bellamy's  position  than 
we  ever  were  afterwards :  but  we  were  not  aware  of  Bellamy's 
discovery  at  the  time."     *     *     * 

"  '  Very  lofty  ridges  of  ice,  and  the  loom  usual  over  the  high 
land  was  visible  along  the  southern  horizon  over  the  barrier.' 

"  I  made  no  positive  report,  nor  mentioned  it  in  the  log,  be- 
cause I  was  not  positive  that  it  was  land,  though  I  have  very 
little  doubt  about  it.  I  think  I  mentioned  it  when  I  saw  Lieut. 
Wilkes  at  New  Zealand." 

Page  30  :  "  Again — Lieut.  Alden  testifies  as  follows  :  '  That 
at  Sydney  Lieut.  Wilkes  came  on  board  of  the  ship,  and  I  re- 
marked the  French  were  ahead  of  us — that  Wilkes  remarked — 
Oh  no,  don' t  you  remember  reporting  to  me  appearances  of  land 
on  the  nineteenth.  I  told  him  I  could  not  call  it  to  my  mind 
then,  and  would  refer  to  the  log,  which  convinced  me  at  once, 
from  the  fact,  that  I  had  the  morning  watch,  it  being  Sunday, 
and  other  circumstances  that  I  had  called  his  attention  to  some- 
thing like  land.'  He  says  afterwards,  I  sent  for  Lieut.  Wilkes — 
that  we  were  in  close  proximity  to  ice,  and  when  he  was  on  deck 
I  said — there  is  something  there — pointing  to  the  southward — 
that  looks  like  land." 

' '  The  testimony  of  Gunner  Williamson  is  as  follows  : 

"  Q.  Were  you  Gunner  of  the  Vincennes  on  her  last 
cruise ;  if  yea,  state  whether  you  saw  land  on  the  i  gth  January, 
1 840,  and  what  you  said  to  Lieut.  Wilkes  on  the  subject. 


148  ANTARCTICA. 

and  fifty  feet  in  height.  We  endeavored  to  work 
up  for  this  land,  which  presented  the  appearance 
of  an  immense  mass  of  snow,  apparently  forming  a 
vast  amphitheatre,  with  two  distinct  ridges  or  eleva- 
tions throughout  its  extent.     After  working  up  until 

"A.I  was  acting  Gunner  for  the  last  three  years  ;  on  the 
morning  of  the  19th,  I  was  standing  on  the  starboard  gangway, 
Capt.  Wilkes  was  on  the  deck  at  the  time — he  came  and  asked 
me  what  I  thought  of  the  appearance  of  land.  My  answer  was — 
'  If  it  is  not  land,  I  have  never  seen  land.'  It  was  in  the  morn- 
ing between  9  and  10  I  think." 

"  Lieut.  Davis  testified  that  on  the  nineteenth,  he  saw  strong 
indications  of  land,  and  entered  it  in  the  log  of  the  Peacock. 
He  says  he  is  still  under  the  impression  that  it  was  land,  and 
that  impression  was  confirmed  by  getting  soundings  on  the 
twenty-third,  at  380  fathoms." 

' '  This  witness  proves  the  relative  position  of  the  Peacock 
on  the  twenty-third  to  be  within  fifty  miles  of  that  of  the  Vin- 
cennes,  on  the  nineteenth. 

' '  He  says  the  difterence  was  two  degrees  in  longitude  ;  there 
are  about  twenty  miles  to  a  degree  in  that  latitude.  The  Pea- 
cock on  the  nineteenth  was  in  longitude  153°  40'  East:  on  the 
twenty-third,  151°  41' East:  the  latitude  on  the  nineteenth  was 
66°  22'  and  on  the  twenty-third  66°  30'.  The  latitude  is  eight 
miles  difference  to  the  south,  and  about  50  miles  difference  along 
the  land." 

Page  31.  "  Passed  Mid.  Eld  testifies,  that  between  ten  and 
eleven  on  the  sixteenth,  he,  with  Lieut.  Reynolds,  was  on  the 
main-topmast  cross-trees,  and  both  simultaneously  exclaimed, 
'  there  is  the  land.'  He  describes  it  with  accuracy  ;  and  adds, 
that  looking  at  it  for  some  time  they  sent  down  for  a  glass,  and 
examined  it  very  closely,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
could  be  nothing  else  but  terra  finna.  He  says  he  saw  land 
also  on  the  nineteenth  from  the  masthead.  He  also  saw  it  on 
the  twenty-third  and  twenty-fourth  ;  and  says  soundings  were 
got  on  the  twenty-third. 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  I49 

midnight  through  detached  portions  of  ice,  we 
reached  the  barrier  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  and 
were  compelled  to  give  up  any  further  attempt  to 
near  it,  (what  we  believed  to  be  land,)  and  passed 
out  of  the  bay  again,  which  was  some  twenty  miles 
in  extent,  through  drift-ice,  into  a  more  open  space 
for  pursuing  our  course  to  the  southward  and  west- 
ward along  the  barrier." 

"On  tlie  22nd,^  4  A.  M.,  appearances  of  land  again 
to  the  southward  and  eastward,  at  the  time  passing 
an  iceberg  with  dark  veins  and  dusty  appearances, 
exciting  confident  hopes  of  soon  making  positive  dis- 
coveries." 

"  He  says  the  land  he  saw  on  the  nineteenth  was  distant  about 
forty  miles." 

Lieutenant  Colvoccorresses  of  the  ' '  Vincennes ' '  in  liis  book 
(Four  Years,  etc.)  does  not  mention  sighting  land  until  January 
19th,  when  he  says  :  "  It  is  believed  by  many  of  us  that  we  are  in 
the  vicinity  of  land  *  *  *  For  the  past  three  hours  appear- 
ances have  been  visible  both  to  the  southeast  and  southwest 
which  very  much  resemble  mountains.  (Note.  The  same  ap- 
pearances were  observed  by  the  'Peacock'  and  the  'Porpoise,' 
and  it  is  now  fully  established  that  they  were  high  land,  and 
formed  a  part  of  the  Antarctic  Continent  discovered  by  the  Ex- 
pedition)." He  mentions  "appearances  of  land"  on  January 
23d.  He  speaks  on  January  30th,  of  the  land  itself;  on  Feb- 
ruary 7th,  of  Cape  Carr  ;  on  February  12th,  of  a  range  of  moun- 
tains covered  with  snow  in  112''  17'  east  longitude ;  and  on  Feb- 
ruary 14th,  of  land  in  105°  30'  east  longitude,  at  which  place 
stones  off  an  iceberg  "were  brought  on  board,  and  they  very 
soon  disappeared,  for  every  one  was  an.\ious  to  possess  them- 
selves of  a  piece  of  the  new  continent.'' 

'"  Rmggold's  Report :  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  vol.  II.,  page  470. 


1 5©  ANTARCTICA. 

"On  the  23rd --^  of  January  we  made,  beyond  the 
barrier,  which  was  thickly  studded  with  bergs  and 
islands  of  ice,  (what  we  believed  to  be,)  high  land,  at 
least  so  far  as  terra  firma  can  be  distinguished  where 
everything  is  covered  with  snow,  and  worked  into  a 
bay  for  a  nearer  and  more  minute  examination.  The 
sea  water  had  been  discoloured  for  some  days,  but  no 
bottom  obtained  by  soundings  ;  in  the  bay,  however, 
it  changed  to  a  dark  dull  green,  and  gave  every  in- 
dication that  we  were  on  soundings,  and  not  far  from 
land.  *  *  *  The  result  confirmed  the  appearances: 
we  obtained  bottom  in  three  hundred  and  twenty 
fathoms,  of  slate  coloured  mud,  and  the  lead  brought 
up  with  it  a  piece  of  stone,  about  an  inch  in  length, 
of  the  same  colour,  while  the  lower  part  of  the  lead 
showed  a  fresh  and  deep  indentation,  as  though  it 
had  struck  on  a  rock.  Dip  observations  were  made 
on  the  ice  with  Robinson's  and  Lloyd's  needles  ;  the 
former  gave  86.10°  the  latter  86.23°.  *  *  * 
While  ascertaining  the  dip,  a  large  king-penguin  was 
captured  on  the  ice,  and  brought  to  the  ship  ;  to  add 
to  our  collections,  in  his  stomach  were  found  thirty- 
two  pebbles  of  various  sizes,  which  appeared  to  have 
been  very  recently  obtained,  and  afforded  additional 
evidence  of  our  immediate  proximity  to  land. 

A  tremendous  storm  now  arose,  in  which  the 
"  Peacock  "  was  so  severely  damaged  by  contact  with 

'"Hudson's  Report:  Narrative  U.  S-  E.  if.,  vol.  II.,  i)age 
465. 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  151 

icebergs,  that  it  was  indispensable  for  her  to  return 
north,  which  was  done.  It  was  found  that  "the  ice 
had  chafed  the  stem  to  within  one  inch  and  a  half  of 
the  wood-ends  of  the  planking."  "^ 

The  "  Vincennes  "  and  "  Porpoise  "  continued  sail- 
ing along  the  coast.  An  ice  bound  bay  was  explored 
on  January  23d,  and  called  Disappointment  Bay.  It 
was  in  67°  4'  30"  south  latitude,  and  147°  30'  east 
longitude.  On  the  28th  there  was  another  terrible 
gale,  in  which  the  ships  escaped  destruction  from 
contact  with  icebergs  by  sheer  good  luck. 

On  January  30th,  "we  approached ^'^^  within  a  half 
mile  of  the  dark,  volcanic  rocks,  which  appeared  on 
both  sides  of  us,  and  saw  the  land  gradually  rising 
beyond  the  ice  to  the  height  of  three  thousand  feet, 
and  entirely  covered  with  snow.  It  could  be  distinctly 
seen  extending  to  the  east  and  west  of  our  position 
fully  sixty  miles.  I  make  this  bay  in  longitude  140° 
02'  30"  E.,  latitude  66°  45'  S.,  and  now  that  all  were 
convinced  of  its  existence,  I  gave  the  land  the 
name  of  the  Antarctic  Continent.  Some  of  the 
officers  pointed  out  the  appearance  of  smoke,  as 
if  from  a  volcano,  but  I  was  of  the  opinion  that 
this  was  nothing  but  the  snow-drift,  caused  by  the 
heavy  squalls.  There  was  too  much  wind  at  this  time 
to  tack,  I  therefore  had  recourse  to  luffing  the  vessel 
up  in  the  wind,  and  wore  her  short  round  on  her  heel. 

"*  Hudson's  Letter  :  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,Mo\.  II.,  page  468. 
"nVilkes  :  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  316. 


152  ANTARCTICA. 

At  the  same  time  we  sounded,  and  found  a  hard  bottom 
at  the  depth  of  no  more  than  thirty  fathoms.  I  made 
a  rough  sketch  of  this  bay,  which  I  have  called  Piner's 
Bay,  after  the  signal  quarter-master  of  that  name." 
At  this  time  there  was  much  sickness  on  the  ship, 
and  Wilkes  sent  official  letters  to  the  officers  and 
surgeons  asking  for  their  opinion  about  what  course 
should  be  taken.  Their  answers,  dated  January 
31st,  are  interesting.  "We  have  been  almost  sur- 
rounded ^"  with  drift-ice  and  ice-islands  for  the  last 
twenty-three  days,  and  coasting  along  the  barrier  of 
field-ice,  which  has  rendered  it  impossible  to  penetrate 
further  south  in  this  vicinity  ;  and,  although  gratifying 
it  would  be  to  land  upon  the  Antarctic  Continent,  I 
am  not  aware  that  any  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
it  would  be  commensurate  for  the  dangers  it  would  be 
necessary  to  incur  ;  and  if  the  discovery  of  new  land 
in  these  regions  is  important,  I  consider  it  equally  so 
that  every  precaution  be  taken  to  communicate  the 
same  to  others."  *  *  *  "  We  would  state,^^'  that, 
in  our  opinion,  it  would  be  as  well  to  hold  on  until 

"'Purser  R.  R.  Waldron,  of  the  "Vincennes":  Narrative 
U.  S.  E.  ^.,Vol.  II.,  page  462.  This  letter  is  important,  be- 
cause it  proves  that  on  January  31st,  1840,  the  name  "  Antarctic 
Continent"  had  been  definitely  given;  and  also  because  this 
is  probably  the  first  time  the  name  was  written  oflicially  (unless 
in  the  log). 

"*  First  Lieutenant  Overton  Carr ;  Lieutenants  A.  Ludlow 
Ca.se  and  Joseph  A.  Underwood  ;  Acting  Master  F2dward  H. 
dellaven,  and  .Samuel  R.  Knox,  of  the  "  Vincennes"  :  Narra- 
tive U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  461. 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD,  1 53 

to-morrow  at  meridian,  in  order,  should  the  weather 
then  prove  favorable,  to  attempt  making  the  recently- 
discovered  land  at  another  point ;  "  *  *  *  "  I  am 
of  opinion,*^  with  due  regard  to  the  report  of  the 
medical  officers,  which  you  have  submitted  to  our 
perusal,  that  it  is  very  desirable  to  ascertain  the  extent 
of  the  recently-discovered  land,  by  another  attempt  to 
the  westward;"  *  *  *  "I  think^^"  it  would  be 
advisable  to  remain  in  this  vicinity  at  least  two 
days  longer,  and  if  possible,  get  further  information 
respecting  the  recently-discovered  land." 

"  The  2d  of  February  ^^'  found  us  about  sixty  miles 
to  the  westward  of  Piner's  Bay,  steering  to  the  south- 
ward, and  as  usual  among  ice-islands,  with  the  land  in 
sight.  The  land  had  the  same  lofty  appearance  as 
before.  *  '''  *  Our  longitude  now  was  137°  02' 
E.,  latitude  66°  12'  S.,"  ===  *  *  "On  the  7th ^'^^  we 
had  much  better  weather,  and  continued  all  day  run- 
ning along  the  perpendicular  icy  barrier,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height.  Beyond  it  the  outline 
of  the  high  land  could  be  well  distinguished.  *  *  * 
I  place  this  point,  which  I  have  named  Cape  Carr,  after 
the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Vincennes,  in  longitude  131° 

"» Lieutenant  James  Alden  :    Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II., 
page  462. 

•"Chaplain  Jared  Elliott:    Narrative  U.  S.   E.   E.,  Vol.    II., 
page  463. 

"'  Wilkes  :  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  320, 

"'Wilkes  :   Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  321. 


1 54  ANTARCTICA. 

40'  E.,  and  latitude  64°  49'  S."       "On  the   loth^^ 

*  '"  *  running  close  alonof  the  barrier,  which  contin- 
ued  of  the  same  character,  although  more  broken  than 
yesterday,  we  saw  an  appearance  of  land,  although 
indistinctly,  to  the  southward  *  *  *  longitude 
122°  35'  E.,  latitude  65°  27' S.  *  *  *  During  the  12th 
we  had  pleasant  weather  and  at  2  A.  M.  filled  away. 
At   8   A.  M.    land   was   reported  to   the   southwest. 

*  *  *  Land  was  now  distinctly  seen,  from  eighteen 
to  twenty  miles  distant,  bearing  from  south-southeast 
to  southwest — a  lofty  mountain  range,  covered  with 
snow,  though  showing  many  ridges  and  indentations 

*  *  *  \Ye  had  decreased  our  longitude  to  112° 
16'  12"  E.,  while  our  latitude  was  64°  57'  S.  This 
puts  the  land  in  about  65°  20'  S.,  and  its  trending 
nearly  east  and  west." 

"I  gained  the  meridian  of  105°  E.,-^'  on  the  12th 
of  February,  latitude  64°  54'  S. ;  the  weather  was 
at  intervals  misty,  affording  little  opportunity  for 
observation  ;  many  strong  indications  of  land  pre- 
sented themselves.  *  *  *  As  I  advanced  west- 
ward, the  marks  of  the  approach  to  land  were  be- 
coming too  plain  to  admit  a  doubt.  The  constant 
ami  increasing  noise  of  penguins  and  seals,  the  dark 
and  discoloured  aspect  of  the  ocean,  with  frequent 
huge  masses  of  black   frozen   earth   identified   there- 

'"  Wilkes:  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  323,  324. 
■'"  Ringgold's  Report:  Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  pages 
471,  472. 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  I55 

with,  strongly  impressed  me  with  the  belief  that  a 
positive  result  would  arise  in  the  event  of  a  possi- 
bility to  advance  a  few  miles  further  south.  *  *  * 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  13th,  I  landed  and  extracted 
from  an  immense  mass  of  black  earth  identified  with 
the  barrier,  some  hundreds  of  yards  back  from  the 
margin,  specimens  of  rock  corresponding  to  those 
previously  obtained."     *     *     * 

"i3th^''  *  *  *  In  the  afternoon  we  had  the 
land  ahead,  and  stood  in  for  it  with  a  light  breeze 
until  6}4  P-  M.  when  I  judged  it  to  be  ten  or 
twelve  miles  distant.  It  was  very  distinct,  and  ex- 
tended from  west-southwest  to  south-southeast.  We 
were  now  in  longitude  106°  40'  E.,  and  latitude  65° 
57'  S.  *  *  *  i4th.^''  At  daylight  we  again  made 
sail  for  the  land,  beating  in  for  it  until  11  A,  M. 
when  we  found  any  further  progress  quite  impos- 
sible. I  then  judged  that  it  was  seven  or  eight 
miles  distant.  The  day  was  remarkably  clear,  and 
the  land  very  distinct.  By  measurement,  we  made 
the  extent  of  coast  of  the  Antarctic  Continent,  which 
was  then  in  sight,  seventy-five  miles,  and  by  ap- 
proximate measurement,  three  thousand  feet  high. 
It  was  entirely  covered  with  snow.  Longitude  at 
noon,  106°  18'  42"  E.,  latitude  65°  59'  40"  S.  *  *  * 
1  determined  to  land  on  the  largest  ice-island  that 
seemed   accessible.     *     *     *     ■\Ye   found   embedded 

""  Wilkes :  Narrative  U-  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  324. 
"*  Wilkes  :  Narrative  U.  S-  E.  .£".,  Vol.  II.,  page  325. 


156  ANTARCTICA. 

in  it,  in  places,  boulders,  stones,  gravel,  sand  and 
mud  or  clay.  The  larger  specimens  were  of  red 
sandstone  and  basalt.  No  signs  of  stratification 
were  to  be  seen  in  it,  but  it  was  in  places  formed 
of  icy  conglomerate  (if  I  may  use  the  expression), 
composed  of  large  pieces  of  rocks,  as  it  were  frozen 
together,  and  the  ice  was  extremely  hard  and  flint- 
like. The  largest  boulder  embedded  in  it  was  about 
five  or  six  feet  in  diameter,  but  being  situated  under 
the  shelf  of  the  iceberg,  we  were  not  able  to  get  at 
it.  Many  specimens  were  obtained,  and  it  was  amus- 
ing to  see  the  eagerness  and  desire  of  all  hands  to 
possess  themselves  of  a  piece  of  the  Antarctic  Con- 
tinent. These  pieces  were  in  great  demand  during 
the  remainder  of  the  cruise.  *  *  *  This  island 
had  been  undoubtedly  partly  turned  over.  *  ''=  * 
On  the  lyth^'  about  10  A.  M.,  we  discovered  the 
barrier  extending  in  a  line  ahead,  and  running  north 
and  south  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  Appear- 
ances of  land^  were  also  seen  to  the  southwest,  and 
its  trending-  seemed  to  be  to  the  northward.  We 
were  thus  cut  off  from  any  further  progress  to  the 
westward,  and  obliged  to  retrace  our  steps.  *  *  * 
We  were  now  in  longitude  97°  37'  E.,  and  latitude 
64°  oi'  S." 


"'Wilkes:   Narrative  U.  S.  li.  E.,  Vol.  II.,  page  327. 

^  Termination  Land,  whose  existence  is  still  uncertain.  Dr. 
Fricker  (^Thc  Antarctic  Rcfrions,  page  221)  suggests  that  Wilkes 
may  have  seen  land  by  refraction. 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  1 57 

The  expedition  now  turned  northward  and  the 
"Vincennes"  proceeded  first  to  Hobart  Town,  then 
to  Sydney,  which  it  reached  on  March  nth.  Lieu- 
tenant Wilkes  immediately  announced  the  discovery 
of  a  South  Polar  Continent  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  in  the  followiug  letter,  dated  at  Sydney,  New 
South  Wales,   March  nth,  1840: — 

"  It  affords  me  much  gratification  to  report  that 
we  have  discovered  a  large  body  of  land  within  the 
Antarctic  Circle,  which  I  have  named  the  Antarctic 
Continent,  and  refer  you  to  the  report  of  our  cruise 
and  accompanying  charts,  inclosed  herewith,  for  full 
information  relative  thereto." ^■''■' 

As  far  as  I  know,  this  is  the  first  definite  an- 
nouncement of  a  mass  of  land,  probably  continental 
in  size,  in  the  antarctic  region.  Five  or  six  ex- 
plorers may  have  sighted  the  Continent  of  Antarctica 
prior  to  1840,  but  none  of  them  saw  enough  land 
to  be  able  to  assert  that  he  had  seen  anything 
more  than  islands.  The  nearest  approach  to  such 
a  statement  was  the  casual  remark  of  Edmund  Fan- 
ning about  "  Palmer's  Continent."  A  strong  proof 
that  there  was  no  knowledge  of  an  Antarctic  Conti- 
nent, prior  to  1840,  is  furnished  by  the  charts  pub- 
lished before  that  date.     No  land  is  charted  by  Wed- 

"•  Captain  Chapman  C.  Todd,  U.  S.  N.,  called  my  attention  to 
this  letter.  It  was  first  published  in  Bulletin  of  the  American 
Geographical  Society,  Vol.  XXXI.,  1899,  pages  123-149  : — 
Littlehales,  G.  W.  :  "The  navy  as  a  motor  in  geographical  and 
commercial  progress." 


158  ANTARCTICA. 

dell,  except  south  of  South  America,  and  on  Biscoe's 
chart  there  is  no  land  marked  east  of  Enderby  Land, 
up  to  the  lands  of  West  Antarctica.  It  is,  there- 
fore, only  the  exact  truth  to  assert  that  the  honor  of 
recognizing  the  existence  of  the  Continent  of  Antarctica 
belongs  to  Charles  Wilkes  and  to  tlie  United  States 
Exploring  Expedition?*'^ 

Two  days  later,  the  first  account  of  the  discovery 
of  a  South  Polar  Continent  ever  printed,  was  pub- 
lished in  The  Sydney  Herald  of  March  13th,  1840. 
I  have  not  seen  the  original  of  this,  but  there  is  a 
reprint  of  it  in  the  Nautical  Magazine  for  1840.^" 
The  article  is  as  follows  : — 

"  An  interesting  geographical  discovery  has  been 
made  in  the  Southern  Antarctic  Ocean,  of  a  Continent 
with  a  coast  of  about  1,700  miles  from  east  to  west, 
highly  useful  for  seal  and  whale  fishery.     The  most 

""Dr.  Oscar  VescheX  {GescMchte  der  Erdkunde,  1865,  pages 
451-453)  a  German  geographer,  was  hostile  to  Wilkes,  basing 
his  beHef  on  Ross'  theories.  His  opinion  therefore  is  doublv  valu- 
able when  he  writes:  "Despite  this,  Wilkes  considered  himself 
justified,  in  giving  to  his  discoveries  the  name  of  '  The  Antarctic 
Continent '  and  he  is  therefore  responsible,  for  again  having 
evoked  the  shade  of  a  south  polar  land."  Dr.  Hans  Rciter 
{Zeitsckri/t  fi'ir  wisscnschaftlichc  Gcographie,  Weimar,  VI., 
1888,  pages  1-30),  quotes  these  remarks  of  Peschel  and  con- 
tinues :  "  Is  the  Antarctic  continent,  which  Wilkes  called  up, 
really  as  much  of  a  ghost  as  Peschel  thought  ?  " 

"'  The  Nautical  Afaq;asi)ie  and  Naval  Chro7iicle  for  1840, 
London,  Simpkin,  Marshall  &  Co.,  Hall  Court,  page  592.  Pro- 
fessor George  Davidson,  of  San  Francisco,  called  my  attention  to 
tiiis  imj)orlant  article. 


WII.KES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  1 59 

singular  coincidence  is,  that  it  was  discovered  by  the 
French  and  Americans  on  the  same  day,  January  19th, 
1840,  at  a  distance  of  720  miles  from  each  other. 

"Amongst  the  arrivals  to  be  found  in  our  ship- 
ping list  of  this  day,  is  that  of  the  United  States 
ship  Vincennes  under  the  command  of  Charles 
Wilkes,  Esq.  The  Vincennes  has  been  absent 
from  this  port  almost  eighty  days,  most  of  which 
time  has  been  spent  in  southern  exploration,  and 
we  are  happy  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  announce, 
on  the  highest  authority,  that  the  researches  of  the 
exploring  expedition  after  a  southern  continent  have 
been  completely  successful.  The  land  was  first  seen 
on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  January,  in  latitude  64 
deg.  20  min.  south,  longitude   154  deg.  18  min.  east. 

"The  Peacock  (which  ship  arrived  in  our  harbor 
on  the  22nd  ult.,  much  disabled  from  her  contact 
with  the  ice,)  we  learn,  obtained  soundings  in  a  high 
southern  latitude,  and  established  beyond  doubt  the 
existence  of  land  in  that  direction.  But  the  Vin- 
cennes more  fortunate  in  escaping  injury,  completed 
the  discovery,  and  run  down  the  coast  from  154  deg. 
18  min.  to  97  deg.  47  min.  east  longitude,  about 
seventeen  hundred  miles,  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  land,  often  so  near  as  to  get  soundings  with  a 
few  fathoms  of  line,  during  which  time  she  was  con- 
standy  surrounded  with  ice-islands  and  bergs,  and 
experiencing  many  heavy  gales  of  wind,  exposing 
her   constantly  to  shipwreck.     We    also    understand 


l6o  ANTARCTICA. 

that  she  has  brought  several  specimens  of  rocks 
and  earth  procured  from  the  land,  some  of  them 
weighing  upwards  of  one  hundred   pounds. 

"  It  is  questionable  whether  this  discovery  can  be 
of  any  essential  benefit  to  commerce ;  but  it  cannot 
be  otherwise  than  highly  gratifying  to  Captain  Wilkes 
and  the  officers  engaged  with  him  in  this  most  in- 
teresting expedition,  to  have  brought  to  a  successful 
termination  the  high  trust  committed  to  them  by 
their  country,  and  it  is  hoped  that  so  noble  a  com- 
mencement in  the  cause  of  science  and  discovery, 
will  induce  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
to  follow  up  by  other  expeditions  that  which  is  now 
on  the  point  of  termination. 

"We  understand  that  the  Vincennes  will  sail  on 
Sunday  or  Monday  next,  for  New  Zeeland  (sic),  where 
the  Porpoise  and  Flying  Fish  will  rejoin  her,  should 
they  have  been  equally  fortunate  with  their  two  con- 
sorts in  escaping  from  the  ice.  The  Peacock  will  fol- 
low as  soon  as  her  repairs  are  completed ;  whence 
they  will  all  proceed  in  furtherance  of  the  objects  of 
the  expedition. — Sydney  Herald,  ijth  MarchJ' 

Another  account  of  the  discovery  of  the  Antarctic 
Continent,  was  also  published  in  London  in  1840  in 
The  Asiaiic  Journal.''^'''      This  says  that  Wilkes  dis- 

'"  The  Asiaiic  Jojtmal  and  Monthly  Register  for  British  and 
Foreign  India,  China  and  Australia ;  Vol.  XXXIII.,  New  Scries, 
Sept. -Dec,  1840;  London,  Win.  H.  Allen,  1840,  pages  31-37  : 
"Discovery  of  llic  Antarctic  Continent"  :   (Bib.  Nat.  Paris). 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  i6t 

covered  land  on  Januarj'  ig,  1840,  in  66°  20'  south  lat- 
itude, 154°  27'  east  longitude,  and  that  the  land  was 
named  "Antarctic  Continent"  before  February  2d. 
The  last  words  of  the  article  are  another  uncontro- 
vertible proof  that  the  existence  of  a  southern  con- 
tinent was  fully  recognized  in  England  by  English 
writers  before  the  end  of  the  year  1840:  "Thus 
then,  the  problem  of  an  Antarctic  Continent  has 
been  so  far  satisfactorily  solved,  as  that  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  its  existence.  The  coincidence  of 
the  two  descriptions  is  a  guarantee  of  the  fidelity 
of  both.  Whether  science,  commerce  or  civilization 
be  likely  to  reap  any  important  fruits  from  the  dis- 
covery,  remains  to  be   seen." 

The  cruise  of  Wilkes  will  remain  among  the  re- 
markable voyages  of  all  time.  No  finer  achieve- 
ment has  been  accomplished  in  the  annals  of  the 
Arctic  or  of  the  Antarctic.^*'  With  unsuitable,  im- 
properly equipped  ships,  amid  icebergs,  gales,  snow 
storms  and  fogs,  Wilkes  followed  an  unknown  coast 
line  for  over  fifteen  hundred  miles,  a  distance  ex- 
ceeding in  length  the  Ural  Mountain  Range.  It  is 
the  long  distance  which  Wilkes  traversed  which 
makes  the   results   of  his   cruise   so   important ;   for 

"'  The  able  and  impartial  Sir  John  Murray,  for  instance,  ( The 
Geographical  Journal,  London,  1894,  Vol.  III.,  pages  1-42  : — 
"  The  Renewal  of  Antarctic  Exploration  ")  says  :  "  When  we  re- 
member that  their  ships  were  wholly  unprotected  for  ice,  the 
voyages  of  D'Urville  and  Wilkes  to  the  Antarctic  Circle  south  of 
Australia  must  be  regarded  as  plucky  in  the  extreme." 


1 62  ANTARCTICA. 

he  did  not  merely  sight  the  coast  in  one  or  two 
places,  but  he  hugged  it  for  such  a  distance  as  to 
make  sure  that  the  land  was  continental  in  dimen- 
sions. The  expedition  noticed  appearances  of  land 
on  January  13th  ;  it  sighted  land  almost  surely  on 
January  i6th,  from  157°  46'  east  longitude  and  again 
more  positively  on  January  19th,  from  154°  30'  east 
longitude,  66°  20'  south  latitude.  The  discovery, 
therefore,  was  made  probably  four  days  earlier  than 
that  of  D'Urville.  On  January  30th,  the  size  of 
the  land  was  sufficiently  ascertained  to  receive  the 
name  "Antarctic  Continent,"  and  this  discovery  of 
Wilkes'  is  the  most  important  discovery  yet  made 
in  the  Antarctic. 

It  is  scarcely  probable,  however,  especially  when  the 
constant  fogs  and  snow  storms  are  taken  into  consid- 
eration, that  the  outline  of  the  coast  of  Wilkes  Land  is 
accurate,  sketched  in  as  it  was  during  a  single  recon- 
naissance ;  but  that  there  is  the  shore  of  a  continent 
between  about  154°  and  100°  cast  longitude  can 
scarcely  be  doubted  by  any  unprejudiced  person 
who  reads  the  Narrative.  The  vast  number  of  ice 
islands  and  tabular  icebergs  shows  that  there  is 
some  extensive  nucleus  which  retains  them  in  an 
uninterrupted  line  on  nearly  the  same  degree  of 
latitude,  and  moreover  these  enormous  bergs  are  not 
formed,  according  to  most  explorers,  in  the  open 
sea.  Along  this  extended  coast  neither  any  open 
strait  nor  iiorduM-Jy  currents  were  nl)served,  and  the 


WTI.KKS,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  1 63 

absence  of  both  are  strong  proof  of  a  continental 
mass  of  land,  rather  than  of  an  archipelago  of 
islands. 

It  is  in  accordance  with  tradition,  however,  that 
Wilkes  should  be  traduced  for  having  discovered 
something.-^^  Marco  Polo's  account  of  the  Ovis  Poll 
was  disbelieved  for  six  hundred  years.  Columbus  was 
put  in  chains.  Amerigo  Vespucci,  who  like  Wilkes, 
first  recognized  the  existence  of  a  continent,  has 
not,  even  yet,  had  his  character  restored  to  him. 
Baffin's  Bay  took  many  shapes  during  two  centuries 
and  was  just  disappearing  altogether  when  Sir  John 
Ross  saved  it.     Abel  Tasman  was  told  that  he  had 

'"  Some  of  the  officers  of  the  United  States  Expedition — William 
M.  Walker,  Lieut.;  Robert  E.  Johnson,  Lieut.;  James  Alden, 
Lieut.;  John  B.  Dale,  Lieut.;  Edwin  J.  DeHaven,  Lieut.;  A.  S. 
Baldwin,  Lieut. ;  George  T.  Sinclair,  Lieut. ;  William  Reynolds, 
Lieut. ;  Simon  F.  Blunt,  Lieut. ;  William  May,  Lieut. ;  Joseph  P. 
Sanford,  Lieut.;  George  Colvoccoresses,  Lieut.;  James  Blair, 
Passed  Midshipman — felt  aggrieved  about  some  of  the  statements 
published  by  Lieutenant  Wilkes  in  his  Narrative.  In  consequence 
they  prepared  a  paper  :  Memorial  of  Officers  of  The  Exploring 
Expedition  to  the  Coiigress  of  the  United  States  :  Washington, 
January,  1847  :  (Geog.  Soc.  Philadelphia.)  All  the  complaints 
made  by  these  officers  are  purely  personal  ones,  about  matters 
OT  charges  which  they  considered  reflected  on  them  personally. 
The  only  mention  at  all  of  the  Antarctic  Cruise  is  the  following  (page 
12)  :  "  'Vol.  2,  page  359 — Lieutenant  Pinckney  was  enabled  to 
come  again  on  deck,  who  had  scarcely  been  able  to  quit  his  berth 
since  leaving  Maquarie  Island,  from  sickness.'  "  The  following 
half  page  explains  that  this  sentence  is  incorrect,  and  that  the 
commander  of  the  "Flying  Fish"  was  on  duty,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  or  two  days,  during  the  whole  of  his  cruise  in  the 
Antarctic. 


1 64  ANTARCTICA. 

not  accomplished  anything  and  that  better  men  would 
be  sent.  Paul  B.  du  Chaillu,  the  hunter  of  the  gorilla 
and  the  discoverer  of  the  pygmies,  was  advised  by 
his  publishers  "  to  stick  to  it."  Henry  M.  Stanley 
learnt  that  he  had  been  rescued  by  Dr.  Livingstone, 
who  was  "  in  clover,"  et  cetera.  Among  antarctic 
voyagers  also,  Bouvet  and  Kerguelen  were  disbelieved 
in  and  sneered  at,  nevertheless  their  discoveries  have 
stood  the  test  of  subsequent  explorations,  as  will 
doubdess  be  the  case  with  those  of  Wilkes,  when- 
ever a  ship  is  sent  to  the  coast  of  Wilkes  Land.  It 
is,  therefore,  nothing  out  of  the  general  run  that 
Wilkes  should  be  disbelieved  ;  but  the  fact  that  he  has 
been  so  much  attacked  only  proves  that  he  did  dis- 
cover something  of  which  the  world  was  ignorant  at 
the  time. 

Impartial  geographers  in  due  time  recognized  the 
importance  of  Wilkes'  discovery,  and  in  recognition 
of  his  work  affixed  the  name  of  Wilkes  Land  to  the 
portion  of  the  Antarctic  Continent  along  which  he 
coasted.  I  do  not  know  who  suggested  the  name  of 
Wilkes  Land,  nor  on  what  map  or  adas  it  first  ap- 
peared, but  it  is  found  as  far  back  as  1866,  in  SticJiler  s 
Atlas,  Justus  Perthes,  Gotha.  It  is  found  also  in 
Bartholomew's  The  Library  Reference  Atlas,  1890 1 
in  the  Library  Atlas  of  Modern  Geography,  D.  Ap- 
pleton,  New  York,  1892;  in  Justus  Perthes'  Taschen 
Atlas,  Gotha,  1893;  in  Sir  John  Murray's  map.  Geo- 
graphical Journal,  Vol.  III.,    1894;    in    Alex.    Keith 


WILKES,    HUDSON,    RINGGOLD.  1 65 

Johnston's  The  Royal  Atlas,  1894;  in  The  Century 
Atlas,  1897;  in  The  Times  Atlas,  London,  1895,  1896, 
1897;  in  Dr.  J.  Scott  Keltie's  map  in  The  Graphic, 
London,  Au<^ust  10,  1901  ;  et  cetera,  et  cetera.  Dr. 
Fricker,  in  The  Antarctic  Regions,  not  only  has  two 
maps  with  "Wilkes  Land";  but  he  devotes  thirteen 
pages  of  his  book  to  "Wilkes  Land."  Hachette's 
Atlas  dc  PocJie,  Paris,  1894,  prints  "T.  de  Wilkes," 
and  it  is  particularly  instructive  to  find  the  country- 
men of  Dumont-D'Urville  using  the  term.  Some 
geographers  still  use  the  term  "Antarctic  Continent." 
Colton's  General  Atlas,  N.  Y.,  1888,  for  instance,  does 
so,  and  also  the  Hydrographic  Office  in  Washington. 
Some  map  makers,  however,  use  neither  name.  In 
Black's  General  Atlas  of  the  fPt'r/fT',  Edinburgh,  1876, 
there  is  the  complete  outline  of  Wilkes  Land,  but  no 
American  name  whatever,  and  only  Adelie,  Clarie  and 
Sabrina  Land.  In  the  E7icyclop^dia  Britannica,  ninth 
edition,  article  Polar  Regions,  is  a  map  with  the  names 
gfiven  by  Wilkes  and  D'Urville,  as  well  as  Sabrina 
Land,  but  with  neither  "Antarctic  Continent,"  nor 
"Wilkes  Land."  The  latest  English  semi-official  map 
in  The  Antarctic  Manual,  1901,  "Antarctic  Ocean, 
Sheet  No.  i,"  marks  Adelie  Land,  Cote  Clarie,  and 
Sabrina  Land,  and  of  all  Wilkes'  discoveries  only 
"  Knox's  Land." 

There  is  litde  doubt,  however,  I  think,  that  in  due 
time,  in  accordance  with  the  excellent  precedent  of 
commemorating    the    names  of  explorers,  the    name 


1 66  ANTARCTICA. 


already  justly  in  general  use  among  geographers 
will  prevail,  and  that  the  coasts  from  Ringgold 
Knoll  to  Termination  Land  will  be  known  by  the 
generic  name  of  "  Wilkes  Land." 


III. 

VOYAGES  SUBSEQUENT  TO  THE   DISCOVERY   OF  THE 
CONTINENT  OF   ANTARCTICA. 

The  great  discovery  by  Wilkes  and  his  men  that 
there  is  probably  a  continental  mass  of  land  at  the 
South  Pole,  may  be  fitly  looked  on  as  the  termina- 
tion of  the  second  period  of  antarctic  research, 
and  the  third  period  includes  the  voyages  from 
this   epoch-making   cruise   to   the    present   time. 

The  first  expedition  of  the  third  period  was  com- 
manded by  Sir  James  Clark  Ross,  R.  N.,^''^  who  had 
never  before  been  in  the  Antarctic,  and  Captain  Cro- 
zier ;  and  it  confirmed  in  a  striking  manner  the  results 
obtained  by  the  U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition. 

It  was  announced  in  England  in    1836^'"'  that  the 

"*  Ross,  Captain  Sir  James  Clark,  R.  N. :  Voyage  of  Discovery 
and  Research  in  the  Soidhern  and  Antarctic  Regions,  during  the 
years  1839-43  ;  London,  John  Murray,  1847. 

McCormick,  R.,  Deputy  Inspector  General,  R.  N.,  F.  R.  G.  S.: 
Voyages  of  Discovery  in  the  Arctic  and  Antarctic  Seas,  etc. ,  Lon- 
don, Sampson  Low,  Marston,  Searle  and  Rivington,  1884 : 
(Amer.  Geog.  Soc). 

"'  The  fonrnal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London, 
VolumetheSixlh,  1836,  London,  John  Murray,  MDCCCXXXVL, 
page  440 :  "X,  New  Expedition  to  the  Pacific  and  Antarctic 
Oceans."  This  article  says  "It  is  expected  that  the  expedition 
will  be  ready  to  start  in  the  spring  of  1S37  "  and  "  Subordinate 
to  this  is  the  intention  of  pushing  during  the  fine  season  as  far 
south  as  practicable,  and  of  exploring  the  unknown  regions  of 
tlie  Antarctic  Ocean." 

(167) 


1 68  ANTARCTICA. 

American  expedition  under  Wilkes  was  going  to 
the  Antarctic,  and  the  EngUsh  expedition  was  de- 
cided on  two  years  later,  in  acquiescence  to  a  series 
of  resolutions  adopted  by  the  British  Association,  in 
August,  1838,-*'  and  the  instructions  to  Ross  from 
the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  were 
dated  the  14th  day  of  September,  1839.-^*  Before 
Ross  sailed  from  Hobart  Town,  he  knew  all  about 
Wilkes'  cruise  and  the  discovery  of  the  Antarctic 
Continent,  for  he  had  received  a  long  letter  ^^^  on 
the  subject  and  also  a  rough  chart  from  Wilkes. 
Ross  speaks  of  the  action  of  Wilkes  in  the  follow- 
ing terms:"'"  "I  felt  therefore,  the  more  indebted 
to  the  kind  and  generous  consideration  of  Lieu- 
tenant Wilkes,  the  distinguished  commander  of  the 
expedition,  for  a  long  letter  on  various  subjects, 
which  his  experience  had  suggested  as  likely  to 
prove  serviceable  to  me  *  *  *  and  I  avail 
myself  of  this  opportunity  of  publicly  expressing 
the  deep  sense  of  thankfulness  I  feel  to  him  for 
his  friendly  and   highly  honorable   conduct." 

He  follows  this  up  by  a  most  surprising  state- 
ment: "That  the  commanders  of  each  of  these 
great  national  undertakings  should  have  selected  the 

"'  Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.   I.,  page  V. 
»"  Voyage,  etc..  Vol.   I.,  pages  XXI-XXVIIl. 
"»  Published  in  V<J\\\ic^' Narrative,  etc., Vol.  II.,  pages  453-456  ; 
and  also  in  Ross'    Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  pages  346-352. 
"•"  Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  pages  115,  116. 


ROSS,    CROZIER.  169 

very  place  for  penetrating  to  the  southward,  for 
the  exploration  of  which  they  were  well  aware,  at 
the  time,  that  the  expedition  under  my  command 
was  expressly  preparing,  and  thereby  forestalling 
our  purposes,  did  certainly  greatly  surprise  me."^'' 
It  is  necessary  to  call  attention  to  this  passage  ^^ 
because  it  appears  to  be  intended  to  convey  the  idea 
that  D'Urville  and  Wilkes  had  acted  unfairly  towards 
Ross.  It  is  not  self  evident  why  either  the  French 
or  the  American  officer  should  have  avoided  sail- 
ing towards  a  certain  unknown  portion  of  the  earth 
because  an  Enoflish  officer  migfht  be  cominof  there  a 
year  or  two  later.  Moreover  the  American  expedition 
had  been  decided  on  at  least  in  1836,  and  the  English 
expedition  only  had  its  inception  in  August,  1838, 
the  very  month  in  which  the  Instructions  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  were  issued  to' 
Wilkes,  and  in  obedience  to  which  Wilkes  made  his 
cruise  to  the  Antarctic.*^^  Ross  certainly  knew  these 
facts  when  he  published  his  Voyage  in  1847,  f^** 
Wilkes  had  published  his  Narrative  in  1845,  and 
Ross  had  read  it,   for  he  cites  it  repeatedly.^" 

"'  Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.  I.,  pages  116,  117. 

*"  Dr.  Fricker,  for  instance,  says  ( The  A?ilarciic  Regions, 
page  93):  "  Ross  was  naturally  and  justifiably  surprised  and 
annoyed  to  find  his  purposes  thus  forestalled  by  commanders 
who  were  well  aware  of  the  preparations  for  fitting  out  the 
e.xpedition  under  liis  own  command." 

'"See  ante,  page  139. 

*"  Voyage,  etc.,  pages  116,  274,  295,  etc. 


1 70  ANTARCTICA. 

Ross  sailed  from  Hobart  Town  on  November  1 2th, 
1840.  He  selected  the  meridian  of  170°  east  longitude 
"on  which  to  endeavor  to  penetrate  to  the  southward. 
*  *  *  My  chief  reason  for  choosing  this  particular 
meridian  in  preference  to  any  other  was,  its  being 
that  upon  which  Balleny  had  in  the  summer  of  1839, 
attained  to  the  latitude  of  sixty-nine  degrees,  and 
there  found  an  open  sea."^  His  ships,  the  "Erebus" 
and  "  Terror,"  having  been  thoroughly  strengthened, 
were   much   more    suitable   for   ice    navigation    than 

Professor  Gregory,  of  Melbourne,  a  well  known  English 
scientist  i^Tlie  Popular  Science  Monthly,  New  York,  1902,  Vol. 
LX.,  pages  209-217: — Professor  J.  W.  Gregory,  F.  R.  S. : 
"Antarctic  Exploration")  has  recently  pointed  out  that  Ross 
was  inaccurate  and  unreliable  in  many  directions.  He  says  : 
' '  On  his  own  lines  Ross'  work  was  magnificent.  His  magnetic 
survey  has  not  been  equalled  in  the  Antarctic;  his  southern 
record  was  not  passed  until  1900  ;  his  discovery  of  Victoria  Land 
and  Mounts  Erebus  and  Terror  were  geographical  results  of  high 
importance.  But  Ross'  range  of  interest  was  narrow ;  he  did 
not  land  on  the  mainland  he  discovered,  and  would  not  let  his 
doctor,  McCormick ;  he  advanced  erroneous  theories  of  oceanic 
circulation,  assigned  wrong  temperatures  to  the  sea  water, 
owing  to  misunderstanding  his  thermometers  ;  he  told  us  prac- 
tically nothing  of  the  geology  of  the  Antarctic  lands,  for  the 
few  pebbles  he  brought  back  were  neglected  until  they  were 
recently  unearthed  and  described  by  Mr.  Prior." 

In  the  same  article,  Professor  Gregory  points  out  what  good 
work  Wilkes  did:  "Wilkes'  work  was  not  only  important 
because  he  traced  this  coast  line  at  intervals  for  60  degrees  of 
longitude  ;  but  the  geological  collections  made  by  his  expedition 
showed  that  the  land  is  formed  of  granites,  massive  sandstones, 
and  other  rocks  of  continental  types." 

""  Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  page  117. 


ROSS,    CROZIER.  171 

those  of  Wilkes  or  D'Urville.^  In  consequence, 
Ross  was  able  to  break  through  the  pack,  and  on 
January  nth,  1841,  in  71°  15'  south  latitude  "A 
strong  '  land-blink '  made  its  appearance  ^^  in  the 
horizon  as  the  ships  advanced,  and  had  attained  an 
elevation  of  several  degrees  by  midnight.  All  of  us 
were  disposed  to  doubt  that  which  we  so  much  ap- 
prehended, owing  to  its  much  paler  colour  than  the 
land-blinks  we  had  seen  in  the  northern  regions, 
but  soon  after  2  A.  M.  the  officer  of  the  watch, 
Lieutenant  Wood,  reported  that  the  land  itself  was 
distinctly  seen  directly  ahead  of  the  ship.  *  *  * 
It  rose  in  lofty  peaks,  entirely  covered  with  peren- 
nial snow  ;  it  could  be  distinctly  traced  from  S.  S.  W. 
to  S.  E.  by  S.  (by  compass),  and  must  have  been 
more  than  one  hundred  miles  distant  when  first 
seen.^'^       *      *      *      'p^g   highest   mountain   of  this 

"*  It  was  in  these  ships  that  Sir  John  Franklin  made  his  last, 
fatal  voyage.  Mr.  Augustus  J.  C.  Hare,  in  his  interesting  The 
Story  0/  my  life.  New  York  and  London,  1901,  Vol.  IV,  page 
439,  voices  neatly  the  feelings  of  the  opponents  of  polar  explora- 
tion :  "Sir  John  Franklin  was  born  at  Spilsby  *  *  *  And, 
coming  from  thence,  John  Franklin  became  the  most  famous  of 
those  Arctic  travellers  whom  Wilkie  Collins  aptly  describes  as 
'  the  men  who  go  nowhere  and  find  nothing.'  " 

"'  Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  page  183. 

'^  This  statement  of  Ross  of  seeing  the  ' '  land-blink "  at  a 
distance  of  over  one  hundred  miles  is  interesting,  for  it  proves 
that  Lieutenant-Commander  Ringgold  must  have  seen  "  the  loom 
over  high  land"  over  the  Balleny  Islands  on  the  13th  of  January, 
1840,  on  which  date  he  was  less  than  two  degrees  of  latitude  north 
of  them.     See  ante,  page  142. 


172  ANTARCTICA. 

range  I  named  after  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sabine,"  etc. 
The  same  day  Ross  christened  Cape  Adare  and  Ad- 
miralty Range,  and  the  next  morning  he  landed  on 
Possession  Island,  in  71°  56'  south  latitude,  171°  7' 
east  longitude,  "  composed  entirely  of  igneous  rocks, 
and  only  accessible  on  its  western  side."  ^^ 

Ross  worked  gradually  south.  On  January  15th 
he  named  Mount  Herschel  ;  on  January  17th  Coul- 
man  Island  ;  on  January  21st,  in  74°  15'  south  latitude, 
he  named  Mount  Melbourne;  on  January  27th  he 
was  in  76°  8'  south  latitude,  168°  12' east  longitude, 
and  landed  on  an  island  which  he  called  Franklin 
Island.  On  January  28th,  "  we  stood  to  the  south- 
ward, close  to  some  land  -""  which  had  been  in  sight 
since  the  preceding  noon,  and  which  we  then  called 
the  '  High  Island ' ;  it  proved  to  be  a  mountain 
twelve  thousand  four  hundred  feet  of  elevation  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  emitting  flame  and  smoke  in 
great  profusion ;  at  first  the  smoke  appeared  like 
snow  drift,  but  as  we  drew  nearer,  its  true  character 
became  manifest.  *  *  *  I  named  it  '  Mount 
Erebus  '  and  an  extinct  volcano  to  the  eastward,  little 
inferior  in  height,  being  by  measurement  ten  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  feet  high,  was  called  '  Mount 
Terror.' "  The  eastern  cape  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Terror  was  named  "Cape  Crozier"  and  another 
mountain,  a  little  further  south,  "  Mount    Parry." 

'^I'oyaj^e,  etc.,  Vol.  I.,  page  189. 
^""Poyage,  etc.,  Vol.  I.,  pages  216,  217. 


ROSS,    CROZIER.  I  73 

Ross  christened  this  land  "  Victoria  Land,"  "  whose 
continuity  we  had  traced  from  the  seventieth  to  the 
seventy-ninth  degree  of  latitude." ""  The  coast  line 
of  Victoria  Land  must  surely  be  a  continuation  of 
the  coast  line  of  Wilkes  Land,  and  as,  to  make  a 
land,  there  must  be  some  extension  in  breadth  be- 
yond the  coast  line,  and  as  the  extension  of  Ross' 
coast  is  due  south  of  Wilkes  Land  and  only  some 
three  or  four  degrees  of  latitude  distant,  the  land 
mass  sighted  by  Ross  therefore,  even  if  the  whole 
place  is  an  archipelago,  must  be  a  portion,  a  hin- 
terland, of  the  land  mass  sighted  by  Wilkes.^^ 

Curiously  enough,  however,  Ross  seems  to  have 
disbelieved  in  a  South  Polar  Continent,  for  he  denies 
its  existence  in  these  words:  -'^^  "There  do  not  appear 
to  me  sufficient  grounds  to  justify  the  assertion  that 
the  various  patches  of  land  recently  discovered  by  the 
American,  French  and  English  navigators  on  the  verge 
of  the  Antarctic  Circle  unite  to  form  a  great  southern 

"^Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  page  248. 

"'  Since  I  made  this  statement  {Journal  of  the  Franklin  Insti- 
tute, 1901,  Vol.  CLII.,  page  29),  an  English  scientist,  Professor 
Gregory,  has  affirmed  ( 77;*?  Popular  Science  Monthly,  New  York, 
1902,  Vol.  LX.,  pages  209-217: — Professor  J.  W.  Gregory, 
F.  R.  S.  :  "Antarctic  Exploration"),  undoubtedly  quite  inde- 
pendently, this  very  fact :  ' '  Two  years  later  the  extension  of 
Wilkes  Land  to  the  east  and  the  south  was  proved  by  the 
famous  expedition  of  Sir  James  Clark  Ross,  which  circumnavi- 
gated the  Antarctic  area  and  passed  all  previous  records  by 
reaching  the  longitude  of  78°." 

'^Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  page  275. 


1 74  ANTARCTICA. 

continent.  The  continuity  of  the  largest  of  these 
'Terre  AdeHe'  of  M.  D'Urville  has  not  been  traced 
more  than  three  hundred  miles,  Enderby's  Land  not 
exceeding  two  hundred  miles  ;  the  others  being  mostly 
of  inconsiderable  extent,  of  somewhat  uncertain  de- 
termination and  with  wide  channels  between  them, 
would  lead  rather  to  the  conclusion  that  they  form  a 
chain  of  islands."^"  Of  course  no  one  will  quarrel 
with  Ross  for  whatever  opinions  he  may  have  formed 
about  the  lands  he  saw  himself,  but  it  may  be  well  to 
note  that  when  Ross  says  that  "the  others,"  i.e., 
"  Wilkes  Land,"  are  of  inconsiderable  extent  with 
wide  channels  and  that  they  form  probably  a  chain 
of  islands,  Ross  is  simply  romancing,  as  he  was  never 

^"  That  Ross  did  not  believe  in  a  southern  continent  is  well  rec- 
ognized by  Mr.  G.  Barnett  Smith  ( The  Romance  of  the  South 
Pole,  Thomas  Nelson  &  Sons,  London,  Edinburgh  and  New 
York,  1900,  page  173)  when  he  says:  "one  thing  was  made 
evident  by  Ross  and  that  was  that  there  was  no  such  thing 
as  a  southern  continent."  Sir  Clements  R.  Markham,  on  the 
contrary,  disagrees  with  Ross'  statement  that  there  is  no  south- 
ern continent,  for  he  says  that  Ross  discovered  it  ( The  Geo- 
graphical Journal,  1897,  Vol.  IX.,  pages  592-593:  "Anni- 
versary address,  1897"):  In  one  short  month  he  [Ross]  made 
one  of  the  greatest  geographical  discoveries  of  modern  times, 
amid  regions  of  perpetual  ice,  including  a  southern  continent, 
which  was  named  Victoria  Land,  an  active  volcano  12,400  feet 
high,  and  the  marvellous  range  of  ice-cliffs.  This  may  fairly 
be  considered  to  have  been  the  only  real  antarctic  cxiicdition,  for 
Ross  alone,  until  1895,  forced  his  way  boldly  into  the  polar  ])ack, 
faced  all  its  dangers,  and  penetrated  far  to  the  south  after  passing 
through  it." 


ROSS,    CROZIER.  I  75 

in  a  position  where  he  could  have  sighted  the  parts 
of  the  coast  of  Antarctica  which  were  seen  by  Wilkes. 

From  the  great  volcanoes,  Ross  cruised  eastward, 
reaching  his  most  southerly  point,  78°  4'  south  latitude, 
on  February  2d;  and  his  most  easterly  point,  77°  18' 
south  latitude,  167°  west  longitude,  on  February  5th. 
During  this  part  of  the  trip,  the  ships  coasted  along  a 
perpendicular  barrier  of  ice,  some  forty-five  to  sixty 
meters  high  and  more  than  seven  hundred  kilometers 
long.  Ross  then  started  northward,  and  on  the  21st 
his  vessels  were  again  near  Cape  Adare.  They  kept 
on  north,  and  on  March  4th,  passed  well  to  the  east- 
ward of  the  Balleny  Islands,  being  in  66°  44'  south 
latitude,  165°  45'  east  longitude.^  Ross  then  sailed 
northward  and  westward  ;  on  March  6th  he  was  in 
64°  51'  south  latitude,  164°  45'  east  longitude,  and  on 
March  7di  in  65°  31'  south  latitude,  162°  9'  east  longi- 
tude. He  then  sailed  further  westward  on  a  track 
some  two  degrees  north  of  the  track  of  Wilkes.  Ross 
was,  therefore,  first  too  far  east,  then  too  far  north,  to 
see  any  of  the  lands  discovered  by  Wilkes  himself  as  the 
South  Polar  Chart,  in  the  second  volume  of  Ross' 
book  and  which  gives  his  track,  conclusively  proves. 

Ross  states,  however,  that  he  sailed  over  a  spot, 
about  northeast  of  the  Balleny  Islands,  which  was 
charted  as  land  on  the  chart  sent  him  by  Wilkes ;  and 
on  the  strength  of  this  only,  he  did  not  lay  down 
Wilkes'  discoveries  on  his  South  Polar  Chart.     Ross 

*"  Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  page  269. 


1 76  ANTARCTICA. 

devoted  many  pages  of  his  book  to  this  matter,  and, 
relying — ^very  naturally — on  his  asseverations  and 
omissions,  some  Englishmen-"''  to-day  repeat  his  as- 
sertions and  omit  Wilkes'  discoveries  from  English 
charts.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  discuss  some- 
what at  length  Ross'  attacks  upon  Wilkes.     So  far 

'^  The  following  specimens  will  ser\'e  to  show  how  some  writers 
treat  this  matter : 

Mr.  W.  J.  J.  Spry  of  the  Royal  Navy  ( Tke  Cruise  of  Her 
Majesty  s  Ship  Challenger,  New  York,  Harper  &  Brothers,  1877, 
pages  137-139)  writes  :  "  And  in  1840,  Captain  Wilkes,  in  com- 
mand of  the  United  States  exploring  expedition,  gave  forth  to  the 
world  his  discovery  of  the  Antarctic  Continent,  which  he  describes 
as  follows  :  '  In  latitude  64°  31'  south,  longitude  93°  east,  we  made 
what  we  believed  to  be  land  to  the  south  and  west,  at  least  so  far  as 
'  terra  firma '  can  be  distinguished  when  everything  is  covered  with 
snow'  (Note:  'United  States  Exploring  Expedition').  *  *  * 
The  supposed  existence  of  tliis  continent  was,  to  a  certain  extent, 
proved  to  be  erroneous  by  Sir  James  C.  Ross's  expedition  the 
following  year  sailing  over  two  of  the  positions  assigned  to  it. 
For  another  point  of  this  continent  (?)  we  are  now  shaping  a 
course."  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  in  Wilkes'  Narrative  the 
passage  given  by  Mr.  Spry  in  which  Wilkes  is  quoted  as  saying 
that  "in  latitude  64°  31'  south,  longitude  93°  east,  we  made  what 
we  believed  to  be  land,"  etc.,  nor  have  I  traced  in  Ross'  Voyage 
any  claim  ljy  Ross  that  he  had  sailed  over  two  of  the  positions 
assigned  to  the  Antarctic  Continent. 

Monsieur  Armand  Rainaud  {Le  Continent  Austral,  Hypo- 
theses el  Decoicvertes,  Paris,  Armand  Colin  et  Cie.  1H93,  page 
477)  accepts  Ross'  views:  "A  little  while  after,  the  testimony 
of  .Sir  J.  C.  Ross  condemned  without  appeal  {tondanina  sans 
appel)  the  imaginations  of  Wilkes  in  the  same  way  that  in  the 
preceding  century  the  testimony  of  Cook  had  ruined  the  imagin- 
ations of  l)alrymi)le.  Where  Wilkes  indicated  a  land,  Ross 
made  a  sounding  of  600  fithoms  without  finding  the  bottom. 
Till-  naturalists  of  the  '  Cliallenger '    (23  and  26  February  1874) 


ROSS   VERSUS   Wir.KES.  1 77 

apparently  this  has  not  been  done  with  sufficient 
thoroughness  from  a  comparison  of  the  original 
documents,  but  it  is  important  that  some  impartial 
geographers  should  take  up  the  matter  and  bring 
out  the  truth  :  and,  to  this  end,  it  seems  well  to  urge 
them  to  study,  to  compare,  and  to  comment  on,  the 
original  documents. 

likewise  saw  no  trace  of  Wilkes  Land."  It  may  be  suggested 
that  there  are  still  a  few  geographers  who  would  not  consider 
the  verdict  "condemned  without  appeal"  as  final. 

Mr.  Louis  Bernacchi  (^The  Geographical  Journal,  London, 
1 90 1,  Vol.  XVIL,  pages  478-495;  "  Topography  of  South 
Victoria  Land,  Antarctic"  page  494)  is  reported  as  saying  in  the 
discussion  of  his  paper :  ' '  And  then  with  regard  to  an  ice-barrier 
to  the  west  of  Cape  North,  of  course  I  have  not  seen  the  barrier, 
and  know  absolutely  nothing  about  it,  but  I  believe  the  barrier 
was  seen  by  Wilkes  and  Uumont  d'Urville.  In  the  first  place,  I 
think  some  of  Wilkes'  ice-barriers  and  lands  are  extremely  im- 
probable. Sir  James  Ross  has  proved  that  some  of  his  lands  did 
not  e.xist,  so  also  did  the  expedition  of  the  Challenger.  Of  course 
Dumont  d'Urville  was  more  reliable,  and  there  is  no  doubt  there 
is  an  ice  barrier  from  Cape  North  westward,  and  I  believe  the 
length  of  it  is  about  90  miles."  It  is  only  necessary  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  contradiction  between  Mr.  Bernacchi' s  decidedly 
positive  opinions  about  the  ice  barrier,  and  his  statement  that  he 
knows  absolutely  nothing  about  it. 

Sir  Clements  R.  Markham,  in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica, 
ninth  edition  (American  reprint,  1885)  article  "Polar  Regions," 
says:  "At  the  same  time  Commander  Wilkes  of  the  United 
States  expedition  made  a  cruise  to  the  southward  and  mapped  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  the  latitude  of  the  Antarctic  Circle  for 
which  he  claimed  the  discovery.  But  as  a  portion  of  it  had 
already  been  seen  by  Balleny  and  the  rest  has  since  been  proved 
not  to  exist,  the  claim  has  not  been  admitted.  *  *  « 
In  returning  to  Hobart  Town  the  expedition  [Ross]  visited  the 
Balleny    Islands,    and    searched    in    vain    for    the    land    which 


178  ANTARCTICA. 

That  Wilkes  was  justified  in  laying  down  land  where 
he  did  is  evident,  for  the  following  reasons :  On  the 
chart  of  the  Antarctic  Continent,  published  in  the 
first  volume  of  Ross'  book  in   1847  o^'Y'  ^he  Balleny 

Captain  Wilkes  had  laid  down  on  his  chart."  He  i^The  Geo- 
graphical Journal,  London,  1901,  Vol.  XVIII.,  pages  13-25: 
"  Considerations  respecting  routes  for  an  Antarctic  expedition," 
page  17)  also  says:  "  Captain  Wilkes,  following  in  the  wake  of 
Balleny  in  1840,  reported  distant  mountains  connecting  the  dis- 
coveries of  Balleny  and  d'  UrviUe  and  laid  down  a  coast-line  of 
vast  extent  representing  land  of  continental  proportions.  But 
Sir  James  Ross  found  himself  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  mountain- 
ous patch  of  land  laid  down  in  Lieut.  Wilkes's  chart.  Sir  George 
Nares  saw  nothing  of  Wilkes'  supposed  Termination  Land  when 
within  15  miles  of  it,  and  there  were  such  discrepancies  between 
the  statements  of  Captain  Wilkes  and  his  officers  that  the  matter 
remains  in  doubt.  It  is  a  question  of  great  geographical  interest ; 
but  we  are  only  certain  of  Sabrina  Island,  Adelie  Island  with 
Cote  Clarie,  and  the  Balleny  Islands.  Ross  believed  that  Wilkes's 
Land  was  a  chain  of  islands."  Let  us  examine  some  of  Sir  C.  R. 
Markham's  statements  in  detail.  He  says  "the  rest  has  since 
been  proved  not  to  exist"  :  When,  where  and  by  whom  was 
the  proof  furnished  ? — Again  "  the  claim  has  not  been  admitted  "  : 
who  is  it  who  has  not  admitted  the  claim,  and  what  difference 
does  it  make  whether  he,  she,  or  it,  admitted  the  claim  or  not? — 
Further  "Ross  believed  that  Wilkes's  Land  was  a  chain  of 
islands ' '  :  but  what  weight  does  any  belief  of  Ross  about  Wilkes 
Land  carry,  since  Ross  had  never  been  there  and  knew  nothing 
about  it ! — And  also  "  there  were  such  discrepancies  between  the 
statements  of  Captain  Wilkes  and  his  officers  "  :  it  would  be  in- 
teresting to  have  these  discrepancies  pointed  out ;  in  my  judgment, 
the  statements  of  Wilkes  and  his  ofhcers  tally  in  all  respects  ; 
and,  what  is  still  more  important,  they  tally  with  tiie  statements 
of  d'Urville  and  his  officers. — The  only  argument  of  Sir  C.  R. 
Markham  in  bulii  his  articles  is  founded  on  the  "land  laid  tlown 
in  Lieut.  Wilkes'  chart"  ;  the  Narrative,  the  papers,  and  the 
published  ciuirls  of  Wilkes,  he  passes  over  in  silence. 


ROSS   VERSUS    WILKES.  1 79 

Islands  are  laid  down  by  Ross  himself.-"  North- 
east of  them  a  land  is  indicated,  which  is  intersected 
by  Ross'  track.-  Tlic  chart  also  gives  tlic  position 
of  the  "  Vincennes "  on  the  13th,  and  a  line  drawn 
from  this  to  the  Balleny  Islands  goes  almost  through 
the  centre  of  the  land.  As  the  "  Porpoise  "  was  close 
to  the  "Vincennes"  on  the  13th,  the  line  of  vision,  in 
which  Ringgold  saw  the  "loom  over  high  land,"  went 
straight  to  the  Balleny  Isles,  which  undoubtedly  were 
the  cause  of  this  loom.-''*  On  comparing  the  state- 
ment of  Ringgold,  with  the  reported  discovery  of 
Balleny,  therefore,  Wilkes  must  have  considered  that 
Ringgold's  appearance  of  land  and  the  Balleny  Isles 
were  the  same  ;  and  he  naturally  laid  them  down 
on  the  chart,  although  a  little  too  far  north. 

Fortunately,  also,  Wilkes  published-''®  a  perfectly 
straightforward  explanation  of  how  this  land  came 
to  be  indicated  on  the  chart  he  sent  to  Ross  : 

"  The  news  of  Captain  Ross  having  sailed  from 
England,  and  his  expected  arrival,  was  also  communi- 
cated to  us.  In  my  despatches  to  the  Government 
I  informed  them  that  the  discovery  was  made  on 
the  19th  of  January,  1840,  the  day  on  which  we  felt 
confident  the  land  existed,  in  154°  30'  east  longitude. 

'"According  to  his  own  statement:  Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.  I., 
page  287. 

"*  See  an/e,  page  142. 

*"  Synopsis  of  the  cniise  of  the  U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition, 
etc.,  pages  18-27. 


I  So  ANTARCTICA. 

In  a  subsequent  despatch  from  New  Zealand,  and 
after  I  had  received  the  reports  from  all  the  vessels, 
with  my  own  obsefVaticilS,  I  found  we  could  claim  the 
discovery  of  land  as  far  east  as  i6o°  longitude,  a  few 
days  prior  to  the  19th,  which  I  accordingly  did. 

"  During  our  cruise,  as  we  sailed  along  the  icy 
barrier,  I  prepared  a  chart,  laying  down  the  land, 
not  only  where  we  had  actually  determined  it  to 
exist,  but  those  places  in  which  every  appearance 
denoted  its  existence,  forming  almost  a  continuous 
line  from  160°  to  97°  east  longitude.  I  had  a  trac- 
ing copy  made  of  this  chart,  on  which  was  laid  down 
the  land  supposed  to  have  been  seen  by  Bellamy 
[Balleny]  in  165°  east;  which  with  my  notes,  ex- 
perience, &c.,  &c.,  was  forwarded  to  Captain  Ross, 
through  Sir  George  Gibbs,  at  Sydney  ;  and  I  was 
afterwards  informed  was  received  by  Captain  Ross, 
on  his  arrival  at  Hobart  Town,  some  months  pre- 
vious to  his  going  south.     The  following  is  a  copy : 

«  :!:  :i:  *  *  :!:  :1: 

"  As  I  before  remarked,  on  my  original  chart  I 
had  (laid  ?)  down  the  supposed  position  of  Bellamy's 
Islands  or  land  in  164°  and  165°  east  longitude,  and 
tliat  it  was  traced  off  and  sent  to  Cai)tain  Ross.  I 
am  not  a  little  surprised  that  so  intelligent  a  navi- 
gator as  Capt.  Ross,  on  fiiuli ng  that  he  had  run 
over  this  position,  should  not  have  closely  inquired 
iiUf)  llic  statements  relative  to  our  discoveries  that 
had  been  pnlilishcd  in  the;  .Sydney  and  II()])art  Town 


ROSS    VERSUS   WILKES.  l8l 

papers,  which  he  must  have  seen,  and  have  induced 
him  to  made  (ivV)  a  careful  examination  of  the  tracks 
of  the  squadron,  laid  down  on  the  chart  sent  him, 
by  which  he  would  have  assured  himself  in  a  few 
moments  that  it  had  never  been  laid  down  or  claimed 
as  part  of  our  discovery,  before  he  made  so  bold  an 
assertion  to  an  American  officer  [Captain  J.  H. 
Aulick],  that  he  had  rim  over  a  clear  ocean  where  I 
had  laid  down  the  land.  And  I  am  not  less  sur- 
prised that  that  officer  should  have  taken  it  for 
granted,  without  examination,  that  such  was  the  fact. 

"  On  reference  to  Ca[)tain  Ross'  chart  and  track, 
it  will  be  seen  he  has  not  approached  near  enough 
our  positions,  either  to  determine  errors  or  verify 
results.  I  am  very  far  from  imputing  to  Captain 
Ross  any  intentional  misrepresentation,  nor  had  I 
an)-  right  to  expect  that  the  track  of  the  expedition, 
and  its  discoveries,  should  have  been  laid  down  on 
his  chart ;  but  it  would  seem  somewhat  unusual  that 
the  discoveries  of  others  (though  of  much  less  im- 
portance) should  be  represented,  whilst  those  of  the 
American  expedition  were  omitted,  when  it  is  known 
that  he  was  in  possession  of  our  operations  more 
fully  than   those  of  others." 

Ross  himself  republished  ^"  the  second  and  third 
paragraphs  of  this  last  quotation,  but  he  took  no 
notice  of  the  fact  that  Wilkes  tried  to  do  justice  to 
the  Englishman,  Balleny,  by  recognizing  and  chart- 

""  Voyage,  etc..  Vol.  I.,  pages  286,  287. 


1 82  ANTARCTICA. 

ing  Balleny's  discovery :  nor  did  Ross  state  that 
while  Wilkes  did  not  write  Balleny's  name  on  the 
chart  he^sent-^o  Ross,  Wilkes  also  did  not  write  on 
it  any  local  names  on  any  part  of  the  Antarctic  Con- 
tinent. Ross  also  did  not  publish  the  first  and 
fourth  paragraphs  of  the  above  quotation,  and  yet, 
it  seems  as  if  they  might  have  opened  his  eyes  some- 
what to  the  error  he  was  making.  That  these  ex- 
planations of  Wilkes  are  absolutely  correct,  more- 
over, is  easily  verified  from  the  writings  and  the 
charts  of  the  two  explorers. 

Wilkes  makes  no  claim  in  any  of  his  writings 
to  have  discovered  any  land  east  of  i6o°  east  longi- 
tude. The  most  easterly  land  laid  down  on  his 
published  charts  was  "Ringgold's  Knoll"  in  157°  46' 
east  longitude,  and  this  of  course  is  several  degrees 
west  of  the  Balleny  Islands.  That  the  expedition 
had  sighted  land  at  this  spot  on  January'  i6th,  was 
not  at  all  a  certainty  at  the  time,  in  fact,  not  until  the 
observations  of  the  three  vessels  had  been  compared, 
and  also  because  of  the  more  positive  proofs  of  the 
existence  of  land  afterwards  obtained.  It  was  not 
until  January  19th,  in  154°  30'  east  longitude,  that 
he  "was  fully  satisfied  that  it  was  certainly  land." 
An  absolutely  indisputable  proof  that  this  is  true  is 
afforded  by  the  article  in  the  Sydney  Herald  o{  March 
13th,  1840,  which  says  that  the  land  was  discovered 
on  January  19th,  and  which  twice  mentions  the  lon- 
gitude as  1 54°  1 8'  H. 


ROSS   VERSUS   WILKES.  1 83 

That  Ross  did  not  sail  overj  any  portion  of  Wilkes 
Land  can  be  seen  at  a  glance  by  comparing  the 
charts  of  the  two  explorers.  The  most  easterly  land 
on  the  charts  published  by  Wilkes  is  well  to  the  west 
of  the  Balleny  Islands ;  while  on  the  charts  published 
two  years  later  only  by  Ross,  Ross'  course  is  laid  down 
to  tlie  cast  of  the  Balleny  Islands,  proving  that  he 
passed  at  least  five  or  six  degrees  to  the  eastward  of 
the  extremest  eastern  point  of  Wilkes  Land.  It  is 
self  evident  that  Ross  knew  all  these  facts  when  he 
published  his  book  in  1847,  fo^"  Wilkes  had  pub- 
lished his  Narrative  in  1845,  ''■"d  Ross  mentions  it 
repeatedly.^'  Still  he  paid  no  attention  to  the  state- 
ments nor  to  the  charts  published  by  Wilkes,  but 
quietly  started  a  grievous  error. ^- 

A  comparison  of  the  original  documents,  however, 
brings  out  one  fact  pre-eminently,  and  that  is,  that 
whether  Wilkes'  work  is  eventually  proved  or  dis- 
proved, yet  none  of  his  discoveries  were  disproved  by 
Ross,  for  the  simple  reason  that  Ross  7iever  was  tvitJiin 
sighting  distance  of  any  part  of  Wilkes  Land. 

'"  Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.   I.,  pages  116,   274,  295,  etc. 

'•'The  editor  of  D'Urville's  Voyage  complains  forcibly  of  the 
treatment  meted  out  to  D'Urville  in  the  report  of  Ross'  cruise 
which  he  says  was  published  in  the  Literary  Gazette  of  September 
1 6th,  1843,  and  which  he  thinks  either  Ross  or  one  of  his  officers 
must  have  written.  The  editor  says  (  Voyage  au  Pdle  Sud,  etc. , 
Tome  Huiti^me,  page  230) :  "  L'auteur  de  ce  rapport,  dans  I'in- 
tention  dvidente  de  rapporter  i  son  compatriote  I'honneur  de 
la  d^couverte  de  terres  australes,  a  comniis  une  erreur  volontaire 
et  grossi^re." 


184  ANTARCTICA. 

Ross  ^^  sailed  again  from  New  Zealand  on  Novem- 
ber 23d,  1841.  Icebergs  were  first  seen  on  Decem- 
ber i6di,  in  58°  36'  south  latitude,  146°  33'  west 
longitude.  Ross  entered  the  pack  on  December 
1 8th,  in  60°  50'  south  ladtude,  147°  25'  west  longi- 
tude. He  worked  his  way  through  the  pack  until 
February  2d,  when  the  ships  were  in  67°  29'  south 
latitude,  159°  i'  west  longitude,  where  he  found  more 
open  water.  On  Februar)-  9th  the  ships  were  in 
70°  39'  south  latitude,  174°  31'  west  longitude.  Ross 
kept  working  south  and  on  February  i6th  was  in 
75°  6'  south  latitude,  187°  4'  west  longitude,  reaching 
his  most  southerly  point  on  February  23d  in  78°  10' 
south  latitude,  161°  27'  west  longitude.  He  was  then 
off  the  great  ice  barrier  he  had  seen  the  preceding 
year.  It  averaged  thirty  meters  in  height  above  the 
water,  and  soundings  in  front  of  it  in  one  place  gave 
a  depth  of  two  hundred  and  ninety  fathoms.  There 
was  an  "  appearance  of  land "  at  this  spot.  Ross 
then  returned,  keeping  along  the  edge  of  the  pack 
until  about  69°  52'  south  latitude,  180°  longitude, 
when  the  ships   ran   into  open  water. 

The  following  year  Ross  ^*  sailed  from  the  Falk- 
land Islands  on  December  17th,  1842.  He  met  the 
pack  on  December  251)1,  in  62°  30'  south  latitude, 
52"  west  longitude.  lie  worked  south,  and  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  West  Antarctica,   charted   a   large 


171 


Voj'age,  etc.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  125-213. 
Vofagc,  etc..  Vol.  II.,  pages  321-374. 


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ROSS,    DOUGHERTY.  1 85 

bay  as  "  Erebus  and  Terror  Gulf,"  and  a  high 
mountain  as  "Mount  Haddington."  A  litde  island 
east  of  this  in  64°  12'  south  ladtude,  59°  49'  west 
loneritude,  was  named  "Cockburn  Island."  On  this 
a  small  flora  was  obtained,  which  Dr.  Hooker  de- 
scribed."* There  were  nineteen  species.  Mosses, 
Alg(C,  and  Lichens:  twelve  are  terrestrial,  three  in- 
habit either  fresh  water  or  moist  ground,  and  four  are 
confined  to  the  surrounding  ocean.  All  through  Jan- 
uary 1843,  Ross  beat  around  in  the  pack  to  the  east 
of  West  Antarctica.  He  got  clear  of  it  on  February 
4th,  when  he  sailed  eastward  to  try  to  follow  Weddell's 
track.  Between  the  meridians  of  10°  and  20°  west 
longitude,  Ross  pushed  south,  attaining  on  March 
5th,  71°  30'  south  ladtude,  14°  51'  west  longitude, 
when  pack  ice  stopped  him  once  more.  He  then 
sailed  north,  and  on  his  return  voyage  searched  in 
vain  for  Bouvet  Island. 

Captain  Dougherty,  in  1841,  discovered  a  small 
island,"'^  now  known  as  Dougherty  Island,  in  about 
59°  25'  south  latitude,  120°  20'  west  longitude.     This 

"'  Voyage,  etc.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  335-342- 

"•  According  to  the  ' '  South  Polar  Chart ' '  by  Captain  W.  J.  L. 
Wharton,  R.  N.,  F.  R.  S.,  Hydrographer :  pubhshed  at  the 
[British]  Admiralty,  20th  May,  1887  :  Small  corrections,  III,  01  : 
Chart  No.  1240.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  the  nomenclature  of 
this  official  British  chart  is  much  more  reliable  than  that  of  many 
English  antarctic  charts.  Graham  Land  is  given  its  correct  dimen- 
sions between  Alexander  Land  and  Danco  Land.     Wilkes  Land, 


1 86  ANTARCTICA. 

may  be  the  island  reported  by  Captains  Swain  and 
Macy.^'  The  same  island  "  was  subsequently  seen 
and  verified  by  Captain  Keates  in   1859."^'** 

Captain  William  H.  Smiley,'™  an  American  master 
of  a  sealing  vessel,  made  a  voyage  to  West  Ant- 
arctica in  1842;  and  he  may  also  have  made  others. 
At  Pendulum  Cove,  Deception  Island,  he  found  a 
self-registering  thermometer,  which  was  left  there  in 
1829  by  Captain  Foster.  Smiley  wrote  a  letter  to 
Lieutenant  Wilkes,  who  says :  "**"  "Captain  Smiley, 
who  mentions  in  his  letter  to  me,  that  in  February, 
1842,  the  whole  south  side  of  Deception  Island  ap- 
peared as  if  on  fire.  He  counted  thirteen  volcanoes 
in  action.  He  is  of  opinion  that  the  island  is  un- 
dergoing many  changes.     He  Iik,ewise   reports  that 

from  Ringgold  Knoll  to  Knox  High  Land,  is  marked  "  I-and 
reported  by  Commander  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N.,  1840."  Tiie 
usual  mistake  of  writing  "Clarie"  over  Cape  Carr  is  made,  and 
"  Palmer  Land"  does  not  appear,  but  there  is  an  evident  inten- 
tion to  be  accurate. 

*"  See  ante,  pages  75,  76. 

"*Fricker,  Dr.  K.  :    The  Anlardic  Regio7is,  1900,  page  119. 

"'  Maury,  Lieut.  M.  F.  ;  U.  S.  N.  :  Explattatioiis  and  Sailing 
Directions  to  accompany  ilic  wind  and  ctirrent  charts  ;  Wasliing- 
tnn,  C.  Alexander,  1851  ;  pages  287-293:  "  Letter  from  Cap- 
tain W.  \\.  Smyley  to  Lieut.  Maury":  (.Stadt  Hib.  l-Vankfurt 
A.  M.).  This  gives  hydrographic  notes  about  many  voyages 
of  Captain  Smiley. 

"^Narrative  U.  S.  E.  E.,  Vol.  I.,  pages  144,  145. 


SMILEY.  187 

Palmer's  Land  consists  of  a  number  of  islands,  be- 
tween which  he  has  entered,  and  that  the  passages 
are  deep,  narrow  and  dangerous." 

Captain  Smiley  wrote  another  letter  to  Lieut. 
Maury  in  which  he  says:^'  "You  can  see  by  refer- 
ence to  the  book  published  by  Commodore  Wilkes, 
that  the  extreme  cold  had  but  in  one  instance  been 
as  low  as  5°  below  zero.  This  I  ascertained  from  a 
self  regulating  thermometer,  in  latitude  63°,  and  gave 
him.  Since  that  time,  it  has  never  been  so  low.  The 
heat  I  could  not  ascertain,  as  the  index  in  the  tube 
shifted  while  I  was  lifting  the  instrument  up.  I  tried 
to  procure  one  sometime  ago  in  New  York,  but  could 
not  find  one.  I  intended  to  have  placed  it  in  a  much 
higher  latitude,  as  very  little  is  known  about  either 
extreme  of  temperature  on  the  land.  For  instance, 
many  suppose  that  Palmer's  Land  is  a  continent, 
and  connects  with  the  land  laid  down  by  Wilkes; 
however,  this  is  not  the  case,  for  I  have  sailed  round 
Palmer's  Land  and  far  south  of  it.  *  *  *  Owing 
partly  to  negligence  and  partly  to  disasters,  I  have 
no  logs  or  books  which  will  be  of  use  to  you."  ^'^ 

''^  Exp/analions,  elc,  page  2g2. 

•"  It  is  certainly  unfortunate  that  Smiley  left  such  imperfect 
records,  as  he  evidently  did  a  good  deal  of  exploring  and  he  may 
have  sailed  through  passages  which  now  are  not  known.  Mr. 
Henryk  Arctowski  (T/ie  Geographical  Jo2irnal,  London,  1901, 
Vol.  X\'III.,  page  368)  hints  that  Smiley  may  have  sailed  through 
Gerlache  Strait,  but  his  routes  can  probably  never  be  ascer- 
tained. 


1 88  ANTARCTICA. 

Lieutenant  T.  L.  Moore,^*^  commanding  the  "  Pa- 
goda," sailed  from  Simons  Bay  on  January  9th,  1845. 
On  the  25th,  in  53°  30'  south  latitude,  7°  30'  east 
longitude,  he  met  the  first  icebergs.  Then  he  sailed 
over  the  place  where  Bouvet  Island  was  laid  down 
on  the  charts,  but  could  not  see  any  land.  In  60°  43' 
south  latitude,  3°  45'  east  longitude,  he  fell  in  with  a 
singular  rock,  or  rock  on  an  iceberg ;  the  mass  of 
rock  was  estimated  at  about  sixteen  hundred  tons ; 
the  top  was  covered  with  ice  and  did  not  appear  to 
have  any  visible  motion,  with  a  heavy  sea  beating 
over  it ;  it  had  a  tide-mark  round  it.  On  the  evening 
of  February  i  ith,  in  67°  50'  south  latitude  (the  highest 
latitude  attained),  39°  41'  east  longitude,  Moore  fell 
in  with  heavy  pack  ice,  extending  as  far  as  could  be 
seen  from  the  masthead,  and  the  weather  becoming 
thick,  he  was  obliged  to  work  the  ship  off,  being  then 
only  seventy  miles  from  Enderby  Land.  Later  they 
got  within  fifty  or  sixty  miles,  but  saw  no  indications 
of  land.  W.  D.  says  of  this :  "  The  ship  was  at 
one  time  within   eighty  miles  of  Enderby  Land ;  but 

'^  The  Nautical  Magazine  and  Naval  Chronicle  for  1S46, 
London,  Simpkin,  Marshall  and  Co.,  pages  21,  22:  "Mag- 
netic Voyage  of  the  Pagoda  :  Extract  of  a  letter  from  Lieut.  T.  L. 
Moore,  R.  N."  :  (Franklin  Inst.,  I'ub.  Lib.  Boston). 

Colburn's  United  Service  Magazine,  London,  1850,  Part  IL, 
pages  201-208: — W.  D.  :  "The  Antarctic  Voyage  of  Her 
Majesty's  hired  barque  Pagoda":  (Mercantile  Lib.  Philadel- 
phia). According  to  Dr.  Mill  {The  Antarctic  Manual,  1901, 
page  541)  the  author's  name  was  Walter  Dickson. 


MOORE,    HEARD.  1 89 

no  indication  of  such  proximity  was  visible.  There 
were  no  icebergs  nor  bhnk,  nor  any  observable 
change  in  the  aspect  of  water  or  sky." 

The  "Pagoda"  continued  on  an  easterly  course, 
encountering  comparatively  little  ice  until  64°  south 
latitude,  50°  east  longitude,  where  there  was  a  strong 
ice  blink.  On  March  6th  they  passed  a  chain  of 
icebergs  and  loose  ice,  and  the  next  morning  the  ship 
was  surrounded  by  bergs  and  pack-ice  behind  which 
appeared  a  high  ridge  of  ice  or  land,  which  could 
be  seen  only  at  intervals  on  the  clearing  up  of  the 
squall,  and  then  only  for  a  short  time.  From  that 
time  the  ice  got  thicker  every  day ;  at  times  more 
than  one  hundred  bergs  were  seen  in  a  day,  one 
berg  being  some  nine  kilometers  in  length  and  forty- 
five  meters  high.  On  March  20th  they  were  driven 
out  of  the  6th  (sic)  degree  of  latitude  and  98°  east 
longitude  by  heavy  ice,  and  the  appearance  of  pack 
ice  in  the  S.  E.,  and  thereupon  they  stood  northward. 
Lieutenant  Moore  says :  "  In  this  trip  we  passed 
more  icebergs  than  in  the  three  former  trips,  and  like- 
wise have  run  over  more  degrees  of  longitude,  inside 
,of  sixty,  than  any  ship  has  done  before."  The  voy- 
age of  the  "  Pagoda  "  is  noteworthy,  because  of  the 
doubts  it  throws  about  the  existence  of  Enderby  Land. 

Captain  J.  J.  Heard,^  an  American,  discovered  the 

"*  Maury,  M.  F.  [Matthew  Fontaine],  L.L.D.,  Lieut.  U.  S.  N.: 
Explanations  and  Sailing  Directions  to  accompany  the  Wind  and 


1 90  •  ANTARCTICA. 

Heard  Island  group  in  1853.  His  log'^"*  says:  "Nov. 
25.  Pleasant  breezes  and  passing  snow  squalls  ;  latter 
part  clear.  The  first  clear  weather  we  have  had  for 
20  days.  At  8. 30  A.  M.  made  land  ;  at  first  took  it 
for  icebergs,  as  no  island  is  laid  down  on  my  chart, 
nor  in  the  epitome.  At  1 1  A.  M.,  the  clouds  cleared 
away,  showing  it  to  be  an  island ;  at  noon  the  eastern 
end  bore,  per  compass,  N.  N.  E.  20  miles  ;  the  western 
end  bore,  per  compass,  N.  by  W.  about  20  miles.  I 
make  the  west  end  of  the  island  74°  15'  E.  long.  ;  east 
end  74°  40';  lat.  53°  10'.  Near  the  centre  of  the  island 
a  high  peak,  5,000  feet  high.  Large  number  of  birds." 
Lieutenant  Maury  mentions  the  discovery  of  these 
islands  as  follows  :'^  "  Another  caution  to  navigators 
is  necessary  in  this  trade,  that  have  a  fancy  on  the 
outward  passage,  to  run  down  their  longitude  be- 
tween the  parallels  of  51°  and  53°.  There  is  a  group 
of  newly  discovered  and  not  accurately  determined 
islands  in  the  way.  They  are  between  the  parallels 
of  52°  53'  36"  and  53°  12'  S.,  and  the  meridians  of 
72°  35'  and  74°  40'  E.  They  were  first  seen  by  Cap- 
tain Heard,  of  the  American  barque  Oriental,  No- 
vember 25,  1853.     On  the   1 2th  June,  1854,  the  fact 

C/errcnl  Charts,  etc.,  Seventh  Edition,  Philadelphia,  E.  C.  and 
J.  Biddlc,  1855:  (Lib.  Co.,  I'hiladdphia). 

"*  Explanations,  etc. ,  pages  763-768  :  ' '  Abstract  Log  of  the 
Barque  Oriental  (J.  J.  Heard).  From  off"  St.  Roque  to  Mel- 
bourne, Australia,  1853." 

""°  Explanations,  etc. ,  page  862. 


HEARD.  I9T 

was  dul)'  reported  by  me  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  importance  of  sending  a  vessel 
of  the  navy  to  look  after  them  and  fix  their  position 
was  urged  upon  the  Navy  Department.  Since  their 
discovery  by  the  Oriental,  they  have  been  seen  and 
reported  by  four  English  vessels,  viz. :  The  Samar- 
ang,  Cafjtain  McDonald,  January  3,  1854;  the  Earl 
of  Eglinton,  Captain  Hutton,  ist  December,  1854  ; 
the  Lincluden  Castle,  Captain  Rees,  4th  December, 
1854;  and  the  Herald  of  the  Morning,  Captain 
Attwaye,  3d  and  4th  December,  1854.  Captain 
Heard  reports  a  peak  of  the  island  he  saw,  to  be 
5000  feet  high." 

Dr.  A.  Petermann'^  states  that  the  discovery  was 
really  due  to  the  "  Great  Circle  Sailing  Principle " 
which  was  invented  by  Lieut.  Maury,  and  that  it  was 
while  following  this  principle  that  these  various  cap- 
tains strayed  on  these  islands.  Dr.  Petermann's  Chart 
of  1858  shows  that  each  of  the  five  captains  who  first 
saw  the  islands  called  the  main  island  after  himself 
Dr.    Neumayer^    suggested    naming  them    "Konig 

'*'  Dr.  A.  Petermanris  Mittheilungen,  etc.,  Gotha,  1858,  pages 
17-33- — A-  Petermann  :  "  Die  Sogenannten  'Konig- Max-Inseln,' 
Kerguelen,   St.   Paul,   New-Amsterdam,  u.  s.  w."     With  charts. 

Dr.  A.  Pelcrmamf s  Miticilungen,  etc.,  Gotha,  XX.,  1874; 
pages  466-467  :  "  Die  Aufnahme  der  Heard  und  McDonald  In- 
seln  und  die  Erforschung  der  SUd  Polar  Regionen." 

•**  Dr.  Neumayer  has  written  a  number  of  articles  about  the  Ant- 
arctic, among  which  are :  Zcitschrifl  der  Gesellschafl  fur  lird- 
kunde  zu  Berlin,  Siebenter  Band,  1872,  pages  120-170:    "Die 


192  ANTARCTICA. 

Max  Islands"  in  1857,  and  Dr.  Petermann  objected. 
The  islands  were  finally  named  Heard  and  McDonald 
Islands  by  the  members  of  the  "Challenger"  expe- 
dition. Small  fleets  of  ships  went  to  these  islands 
about  the  beginning  of  1855  to  catch  sea  leopards 
and  sea  elephants,  which  were  found  there  at  that 
time  in  countless  numbers. 

Captain  William  Grant  ^^  in  the  "  Day  Spring,"  on 
December  23d,  1855,  in  56°  50'  south  latitude,  40° 
west  longitude,  sighted  an  icy  barrier  of  flat  topped 
icebergs,  apparently  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  meters  high,  and  had  some 
difficulty  in  sailing  his  ship  among  them.  There 
were  seldom  less  than  ten  or  fifteen  ice  islands  in 
sight  until  December  27th,  in  52°  40'  south  latitude, 
20°  west  longitude. 

Captain  Dal  1  man n,'-'"  a  German,  in  the  steamship 
"Greenland,"  was  seal  hunting  from  November  17th, 

Erforschung  des  Siid  Polar  Gebietes."  Anna/en  der  Hydro- 
graphic  laid  Mariiimcn  Mctcorologie ,  Einundzvvanzigster  Jahr- 
gang,  1893,  Berlin,  pages  449-467:  "Die  neuesten  Fortschritte 
der  Bestrebungen  zu  Gunsten  einer  wissenschaftlichen  Erforschung 
der  Antarktischen  Region."  Dr.  Neumayer  has  recently  pub- 
lished a  book,  which  I  have  not  seen  :  Auf  zum  Siidfiol,  Berlin, 
1 901. 

"'  Rosser,  W.  M.  :  Abies  on  the  Physical  Geography  and 
Meteorology  0/ the  South  Atlantic,  London,  James  Iniray  and  Son, 
1862,  page  94. 

'"  Verhandlungcn  des  Vereins  fiir  natimaissenscha/tliche 
Untcrhandlung  zu  Hamburg,  Band  V.,  Hamburg,  1883,  pages 


GRANT,    DALLMANN.  1 93 

1873,  to  March  4th,  1874.  On  January  8th,  in  about 
64°  45'  south  latitude,  Dallmann  landed  on  one  of 
the  western  islands  of  West  Antarctica.  On  January 
loth  he  found  a  deep  bay,  where  he  appears  to  have 
landed  in  about  64°  55'  south  latitude;  this  bay  ter- 
minated in  a  strait  which  stretched  away  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  see.^^  The  land  appeared  to  consist 
of  islands,  for  Dallmann  saw  several  streaks  of  blue 
sky,  which  seemed  as  if  they  must  be  over  straits. 
The  land  was  high  and  mountainous,  and  the  coast 
between  the  capes  was  filled  with  a  high  upright  ice 

1 18-128,  130-136  : — Schiffskapitain  A.  Schiick  :  "  Die  Entwicke- 
lung  unserer  Kenntnisse  der  Lander  im  Siiden  von  Amerika." 
Dr.  A.   Pclcnnann' s  MHtcilungen,  etc.,  Gotha,  XXL,  1875, 
page  312  ;   "  Deutsche  Entdeckungen  am  Sudpol." 

^"  A  chart  of  West  Antarctica  with  corrections  made  by  Captain 
Dalhnann  and  Dr.  Pctcrmann  themselves  is  now  at  "Justus 
Perthes'  Geographischer  Anstalt,"  Gotha:  this  chart  shows  the 
entrance  to  a  great  strait  in  about  the  position  of  the  southern 
end  of  Gerlache  Strait.  A  map  by  L.  Friederichsen,  published 
in  the  Miltheilungen  der  Geographischen  Gesellschaft  in  Ham- 
burg, 1891-92,  Hamburg,  1895:  "Original  Karte  des  Dirck 
Gherritz  Arcliipels,"  also  shows  Dallmann' s  Strait  or  Bay 
under  the  name   "Bismarck   Str." 

Dr.  H.  Wichmann  (^Dr.  A.  Pclcrmami s  Mittcilungen,  Gotha, 
Vol.  46,  1900,  page  172  ;  and  Vol.  47,  1901,  page  48)  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  strait  explored  by  the  Belgica 
expedition  was  the  one  seen  by  Dallmann.  Mr.  Henryk 
Arctowski  (^Tkc  Geographical  Journal,  London,  1901,  Vol. 
XVIIL,  page  368)  on  the  contrary,  thinks  that  "  as  to  the  strait, 
Dallman  could  not,  from  his  position,  have  seen  anything  other 
than  the  entrance  to  the  great  fiord  called  by  de  Gerlache, 
Flanders  bay." 


194  ANTARCTICA. 

wall,  from  which  large  pieces  frequently  broke  off. 
The  strait  has  been  called  Bismarck  Strait,  but  a 
better  name  would  be  Dallmann  Strait ;  it  is  perhaps 
the  southern  end  of  Gerlache  Strait  or  it  may  prove 
to  be  a  bay  or  a  strait  further  south.  Friederichsen 
charts  Bismarck  (Dallmann)  Strait  as  some  distance 
south  of  65°  south  latitude,  while  Gerlache  Strait 
begins  some  distance  north  of  65°  south  latitude. 
If  Dallmann  Strait  is  not  Gerlache  Strait  it  may 
perhaps  separate  Danco  Land  from  Graham  Land, 
and  it  may  perhaps  communicate  with  the  inden- 
tation, "  Larsen  Bay,"  sighted  on  the  east  coast  of 
West  Antarctica  by  Larsen.  Dallmann  sailed  north 
from  this  strait  and  came  to  the  Shetlands  and  the 
Powell  Islands.  He  found  all  the  charts  extremely 
unreliable. 

In  1874,  Captain  George  S.  Nares,  R.  N.,  in  com- 
mand of  the  "Challenger,"^-  on  her  deep-sea  sound- 
ing and  dredging  expedition,  after  a  stop  at  Kcr- 

^  Report  on  the  Scicnlific  ResiiUs  of  the.  Voyage  of  H.  M.  S. 
Challenger :  prepared  by  Sir  C.  Wyvillc  Thomson  and  John  Mur- 
ray ;   London,  1885  ;   Narrative,  Vol.  I.,  pages  396-452. 

Spry,  W.  J.  J.,  R.  N. :  The  Cruise  of  Her  Majesty s  Shifi 
Challetigcr,  London,  Sampson  Low,  Marston,  Scaile  and  Riv- 
inK'ton,   1S77. 

Camplxrll,  Lord  Cicorgo  :  Log  Lcttersfrom  ''  The  Challenger," 
London,  Macmillan  and  Co.,  1876. 

Wild,  John  James  :  At  Anchor,  A  Narrative  of  Experiences 
AJloat  and  Ashore  during  the  voyage  of  II.  1\I.  S.  Challenger, 
London,  Marcus  Ward  and  Co.,  1878,  pages  59-78- 


DALLMANN,    NAKKS.  I95 

guelen  Island,  sailed  southeast  and  crossed  the 
Antarctic  Circle.  On  February  23d,  24th  and  25th, 
1874,  the  "Challenger"  was  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
pack,  reaching  64°  18'  south  latitude,  94°  47'  east 
longitude.  The  accounts  of  the  different  writers 
disagree  in  various  minor  respects,  but  they  agree 
in  stating  that  the  pack  was  too  heavy  for  an 
undefended  ship  to  enter,  and  also  that  Termination 
Land  was  not  sighted.  The  official  account  is  that 
of  Sir  J(jhn  Murray,  who  says:  "After  getting  clear 
of  the  pack  at  i  i  A.  M.  [25th]  the  ship  sailed  along 
its  edge  until  noon,  being  from  10  A.  M.  until  that 
time  within  about  fifteen  miles  of  the  supposed 
position  of  Wilkes'  Termination  Land,  but  neither 
from  the  deck  nor  masthead  could  any  indication 
of  it  be  seen.  The  hmit  of  vision  as  lograed  was 
twelve  miles,  and  had  there  been  land  sufficiently 
lofty  for  Wilkes  to  have  seen  it  at  a  distance  of  sixty 
miles  (which  was  the  distance  he  supposed  himself  off 
it)  either  the  clouds  capping  it  or  the  land  itself  must 
have  been  seen.  If  Wilkes'  distance  was  overesti- 
mated, that  of  the  Challenger  would  be  increased, 
and  it  may  still  be  found,  but  as  the  expression  in 
Wilkes'  journal  is  '  appearance  of  land  was  seen  to 
the  southwest,  and  its  trending  seemed  to  be  to 
the  northward,'  and  not  that  land  was  actually 
sighted,  and  a  bearing  obtained,  it  is  probable  that 
Termination  Land  does  not  exist  ;  still  it  is  curious 
that  pack  ice  and  a  large  number  of  bergs  should 


1 96  ANTARCTICA. 

have  been  found  in  nearly  the  same  position  as  by 
Wilkes  in  1840,  and  this  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  land  cannot  be  very  far  distant." 

It  is  worth  noting  that,  as  Dr.  Murray  justly  says, 
Wilkes  only  speaks  of  an  "appearance  of  land" 
at  this  spot.  The  most  important  geographical 
result  of  the  "Challenger's"  southern  jaunt,  was  to 
prove  that  there  was  a  floating  ice  barrier  in  1874 
in  exactly  the  same  situation  where  there  was  a 
floating  ice  barrier  in    1840. 

In  1874-1875-^^  a  party  of  American,  another  of 
English,  and  a  third  of  German  scientists,  spent 
part  of  the  southern  summer  on  Kerguelen  Island, 
principally  occupied  in  making  observations  in  con- 
nection with  the  transit  of  Venus. 

Dr.  K.  Schrader  commanded  a  German  scientific 
expedition^  which  was  sent  to  South  Georgia  in  1882. 
The  expedition  arrived  there  on  "S.  M.  S.  Moltke" 
in  August;  spent  a  whcilr   \(ar  at  Moltke  Harbor; 

"'  Btdlelin  of  the  United  Slates  National  Museum ;  Nos.  2 
and  3  :  Wa.sliington,  Government  Printing  Office,  1875  and  1S76: — 
Kidder,  J.  H.,  M.  U.  :  "  Contriijutions  to  the  Natural  History  of 
Kerguelen  Island." 

™  Prof.  Dr.  Neumayer  and  I'rof.  Dr.  Borgen :  Die  Interna- 
tionale Pola?/o>scliu)ii^,  1H82-1883  ;  "  Die  Beohachtungs-Ergeb- 
ni.sse  der  Deutschen  Stationen ;  Band  II.;  Siid-Georgien "  ; 
Berlin,  A.  Asher,  1886:  With  accompanying  maps  and  plates: 
(Grossherz.  Hof  Bib.    Darmstadt). 


SCHRADER.  !97 

and  left  tliere  in  August  1883,  on  "S.  M.  S.  Marie." 
The  observations  were  principally  meteorological  and 
magnetic ;  but  some  astronomical  work  was  done, 
and  a  careful  map  made  of  South  Georgia  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  German  station. 

Some  observations  made  by  shipmasters  about 
icebertj:s  in  southern  latitudes  are  worth  noting.^ 
Icebergs  are  constantly  found  as  far  north  as  40** 
south  latitude ;  on  several  occasions  they  have  been 
seen  near  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  34°  south 
latitude  ;  and  on  April  30,  1 894,  the  master  of  the 
"  Dochra  "  saw  a  small  piece  of  ice  in  26°  30'  south 
latitude,  25°  40' west  longitude.  Some  of  these  bergs 
were  reported  as  of  tremendous  size :  the  captain  of 
the  "Drumcraig"  saw  one  100  meters  high  and  40 
to  48  kilometers  long  in  49°  34'  south  latitude, 
45°  53'  west  longitude;  and  Mr.  Towson  tells  of 
a  berg  seen  by  twenty-one  ships  in  1 854-1 855, 
between  40°  and  44°  south  latitude,  and  20°  to  28° 
west  longitude,  which  was  "  of  horizontal  dimensions 
of  60  by  40  miles. '  It  was  reported  to  be  of  the  form 
of  a  hook,  the  longer  shank  of  which  was  60  miles, 
the  shorter  40  miles,  and  embayed  between  these 
mountains  of  ice  was  a  space  of  water  40  miles 
across." 

"•Gray,  W.  T.,  M.  S.,  U.  S.  Hydrographic  Office:  "  The 
Chronology  and  Geographical  Distribution  of  Icebergs  in  the 
Southern  and  Antarctic  Oceans." 


1 98  ANTARCTICA. 

In  1892-1893,  four  Dundee  whalers,  the  "Active," 
the  "Balaena,"  the  "Diana,"  and  the  "Polar  Star," 
made  a  cruise  to  the  Antarctic.'--"^  The  ships  made  no 
big  geographical  discovery,  hunting  for  seals  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  West  Antarctica,  north  of  65°  south 
latitude.  Mr.  Murdoch,  an  artist,  made  some  interest- 
ing notes  about  antarctic  color,  however,  which  show 
that  the  Antarctic  is  not  as  black  as  painted.  For 
instance,  he  says  :  -^  "  The  reader  must  draw  on  his 
fancy  for  the  colouring :  the  clouds  soft  warm  grey, 
the  crags  of  the  berg  to  the  right  a  purple  lead 
colour,  the  slope  dull  white  ;  the  berg  to  the  left  pale 
violet,  with  two  or  three  upright  clefts  of  deep  blue, 
along  the  top  an  edge  of  pure  white  ;  between  the 
bergs  a  third  appears  light  emerald  green.  The 
floating  ice  in  front,  some  parts  creamy  white,  like 
broken  marrons,  others  dead  marble  white,  and  two 
or  three  of  vivid  sky-blue,  frosted  with  white  ;  the 
sea  an  umber  colour,  with  lavender  sheen." 

"•  Tke  Scollish  Geographical  Magazine,  Vol.  X.,  Edinburgh, 
1894;  pages  57-62: — Bruce,  William  S.  :  "The  Story  of  the 
Antarctic;"  pages  62-69: — Donald,  Ur.  C.  W.  :  "The  late 
expedition  to  the  Antarctic." 

The  Geographical  Journal,  VoX.VW.,  1896:  "Cruise  of  the 
'Balaena'  and  the  'Active'  in  the  Antarctic  Se;is,  1892-93;" 
pages  502-517:^ — -I.  Bruce,  William  S.  :  "The  Balaena;" 
pages  625-643: — II.  Donald,  Charles  W.,  M.  U.  :  "The 
Active." 

Murdoch,  W.  Q.  Burn  :  /•><);«  Edinburgh  to  the  Antarctic, 
Longmans,  Green  and  Co.,  London  and  New  York,  1894. 

""  From  Edinburgh  to  the  Antarctic,  page  286. 


DUNDEE   WHALERS,    LARSEN.  1 99 

Captain  Larsen,  a  Norwegian  sealer,  made  a  cruise 
in  1893-1893  in  the  "Jason,"  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  West  Antarctica.^^ 

The  following  season.  Captain  Larsen  made  a 
longer  cruise -'*'■'  in  the  same  vessel,  landing  at  Cape 
Seymour  on  November  i8th.  He  says:  ''When 
we  were  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  shore  and 
stood  about  300  feet  above  the  sea,  we  began  to 
see  the  petrified  wood  more  frequently.  We  took 
several  specimens  of  these  stems  with  us  :  the  wood 
looks  as  if  it  might  be  from  deciduous  trees.  One 
recognized  the  bark  with  the  branches  and  the  year- 
rings  of  the  logs,  which  lay  slantingly  in  the  soil. 
Some  of  the  wood  looked  as  if  it  had  been  thrown 
out  of  the  water,  while  some  of  it  seemed  as  if  it 
could  not  have  been  in  the  water,  because  in  the 
first  we  found  petrified  worms,  while  in  the  other  we 
did  not    find    any.     At  other  places  we    found  balls 

*"  Murdoch,  W.  G.  Burn  :    From  Edinburgh  to  the  Anlarctic. 

""  Mitthciliingcn  dcr  Gcographischcn  Gcscllschafl  m  Hatnburg, 
i8gi-g2 ;  Heft  II.,  Hamburg,  L.  Friederichsen  &  Co.,  1895; 
pages  245-298: — Dr.  Johannes  Petersen:  "Die  Reisen  des 
"■Jason'  und  der  '  Hertha '  in  das  Antarktische  Meer  1893/94"  etc. 

Norske  G.  S.  Aarbog  :  5.,  1893-94,  pages  11 5-1 31  : — Larsen, 
Kapt.  C.  A. :  "  Nogle  optegnelser  af  sael  og  hvalfanger  'Jasons ' 
reise  i  Sydishavet  1893  og  1894." 

Geographical  Journal,  London,  1894,  Vol.  IV.,  pages  333- 
344  :   ' '  The  Voyage  of  the  Jason  to  the  Antarctic  Regions. ' ' 

Dr.  A.  Pctertnaiui  s  Mitleilungen,  etc.,  Gotha,  40  Band,  1894, 
pages  139-141  : — A.  Schuck:  "Das  neu  entdeckte  Land  im 
Antarktischen  Gebiet." 


200  ANTARCTICA. 

formed  of  sand  and  cement  which  lay  upon  pillars 
of  the  same  kind.  We  collected  in  several  places 
some  fifty  of  them ;  they  had  the  appearance  of 
having  been  made  by  the  hand  of  man."  These 
discoveries  are  noteworthy,  for  they  seem  to  be  the 
only  thing  of  the  kind  so  far  noticed  in  Antarctica. 

From  Cape  Seymour,  the  "  Jason "  first  sailed 
east,  then  returned  and  went  south  along  the  east- 
ern coast  of  West  Antarctica.  Larsen  christened 
this  coast  "King  Oscar  II.  Land"  and  Foyn  Land.^ 
His  down  track  was  near  60°  and  61°  east  longi- 
tude, and  his  most  southern  point,  68°  10'  south  lati- 
tude, was  reached  on  December  6th,   1893. 

On  his  return  north,  Larsen  landed  on  December 
nth,  on  Christensen  island,  where  there  was  a  small, 
active  volcano,  in  65°  5'  south  latitude,  58°  40'  west 
longitude.  From  here  he  saw  five  small  islands  lying 
about  northwest,  on  one  of  which  was  an  active 
volcano.  In  a  north  or  northwestern  direction  he 
could  not  see  any  land  west  of  Cape  Foster,  although 
the  later  christened  Danco  Land  must  be  not  far 
distant  to  the  west.  Larsen's  observation  is  note- 
worthy as  being  directly  the  opposite  of  the  usual 
reports  of  appearances  of  land  in  the  Antarctic.  It 
is  possible  that  this  open  space  is  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  bay  or  strait  which  was  discovered 
by  Nat.  B.  Palmer  and  christened  "  Orleans  Channel" 

""  It  is  probable  tliat  this  coast  was  sighted  by  Morrell.     See 
ante,  pages  102,  105. 


LARSEN,  EVENSEN,  PEDERSEN.         20I 

by  D'Urville :  it  may  also  communicate  with  the 
strait  reported  by  DaUmann.  This  bay  does  not 
appear  to  have  received  a  name  as  yet,  and  it  would 
seem  only  just  to  call  it  "  Larsen  Bay." 

Captain  Evensen,  "*'^  a  Norwegian  sealer,  in  Novem- 
ber 1893,  cruised  in  the  "  Hertha  "  along  the  west 
coast  of  West  Antarctica.  He  passed  Adelaide  Is- 
land and  the  Biscoe  Islands,  which  were  almost  free 
from  ice,  and  sighted  Alexander  Land,  which  was 
surrounded  by  pack  ice.  He  reached  69°  10'  south 
latitude,  76°  1 2'  west  longitude ;  the  absence  of  ice 
at  this  early  period  of  the  southern  summer  being 
the  noteworthy  feature  of  his  voyage. 

Captain  Morten  Pedersen,  with  the  "  Castor,"  was 
in  company  with  Evensen  for  part  of  this  journey, 
and  went  at  least  as  far  as  64°  23'  south  latitude, 
53°  20'  west  longitude. 

In  1894-1S95,  the  Norwegian  steam  whaler  "Ant- 
arctic "  made  a  cruise  to  East  Antarctica.**-    It  started 

"'  Mittheilungcn  dcr  Gcograpkiscken  GcscUschaft  in  Hamburg, 
i8()i-()2 ;  Heft  II.,  Hamburg,  L.  Friederichsen  &  Co.,  1895  ; 
pages  245-298: — Dr.  Johannes  Petersen  :  "  Die  Reisen  des  'Jason ' 
und  der  '  Hertha'  in  das  Antarktische  Meer  1893/94  "  etc. 

*»Bull,  H.  J.  :  The  Cruise  of  the  ''Antarctic''  to  the  South 
Polar  Rcgiotis ;  Edward  Arnold,  London  and  New  York, 
1896. 

Geographical  Jo7imal,  London,  1895,  Vol.  V.,  pages  583- 
589: — Borchgrevink,  C.  Egeberg  :  "The  'Antarctic's'  Voyage 
to  the  Antarctic." 


202  ANTARCTICA. 

from  Melbourne  on  SeiDtember  20th,  1894.  On  No- 
vember 6th,  they  saw  such  an  immense  ice  island 
that  it  was  mistaken  for  land  and  called  Svend  Foyn 
Island.  After  some  cruising,  the  "Antarctic"  reached, 
on  December  14th,  the  Balleny  Islands  from  the 
northeast ;  then,  after  much  trouble  with  the  ice,  on 
January  i6th.  Cape  Adare  ;  and  on  January  i8th. 
Possession  Island,  on  which  several  members  of  the 
expedition  landed.  On  January  22d  the  "Antarctic" 
was  southeast  of  Coulman  Island,  in  74°  south  lati- 
tude. On  January  23d,  the  expedition  was  back  at 
Cape  Adare,  where  a  landing  was  effected,  the  first 
on  Victoria  Land.  Some  crytogamic  vegetation  was 
found  on  Possession  Island  and  also  at  Cape  Adare, 
and  a  small  number  of  whales,  supposed  to  be  right 
whales,  and  many  blue  whales  were  seen  during  the 
cruise. 

Lieutenant  Adrien  de  Gerlache,  of  the  Belgian 
Navy,  in  1898- 1899,  led  an  important  expedition  to 
the  Antarctic.^'"     The  "  Belgica  "  left  Staaten  Island 

Transactions  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  Austral- 
asia, Victorian  Branch,  Vol.  XII. -XIII.,  1896,  pages  73-100: — 
Kristensen,  Captain  Leonard:  "Journal  of  the  Right-Whaling 
Cruise  of  the  Norwegian  Steamship  'Antarctic '  in  Southern  Seas." 

»°»Cook,  Frederick  A.,  M.  D.  :  Through  the  First  Antarctic 
Night,  New  York,  Doubleday  <Sc  McClure  Co.,  1900.  Appen- 
dix No.  VI.  of  this  book:  "The  possibilities  of  Antarctic  E.k- 
ploration,"  touches  on  the  possible  political  rights  of  nations  in 
Anl.irctica :  the  views  expressed  in  this  essay  arc  undouiiudly 
correct. 


KRISTENSEN,    GERLACHE.  203 

on  January  13th,  1S98,  sighted  the  South  Shetlands 
a  week  later,  then  crossed  Bransfield  Strait,  and  on 
the  afternoon  of  January  23d  was  off  the  coast  of 
Palmer  Archipelago.  Here  the  expedition  entered 
the  supposed  Hughes  Bay,  which  proved  to  be  the 
mouth  of  the  strait  discovered  by  Nathaniel  B. 
Palmer  in  1821,  and  which  compares  in  size  with 
the  Strait  of  Magalhaes.  It  was  called  Belgica 
Strait.     On   the   east   is   a  land    which   was    named 

Socicte  Royale  Beige  de  Gcographie,  Bulletin;  Vingt-qua- 
triSme  Ann^e,  1900,  No.  i.     This  contains  : — 

I.  "  Expedition  antarctique  beige." 

II.  Lecointe,  G.  :  "  Aper9U  des  travaux  scientifiques  de  1'  Ex- 
pedition Beige." 

III.  Lecointe,  G.  :  "  L' hydrographie  dans  le  d6troit  de  'la 
Belgica '  et  les  observations  astronomiques  et  magn6tiques  dans 
la  zone  australe." 

IV.  Arctowski,  H.  :  "  Gcographie  physique  de  la  region  visitCe 
par  r  expedition  de  '  la  Belgica.'  " 

V.  Racovitza,  E.G.:  "La  vie  des  animaux  et  des  plantes  dans 
1'  Antarctique." 

Bulletin  de  la  SociHi  Royale  de  Giograpkie  d'  Afivers,  1900, 
Tome  XXIV.,  pages  25-51  : — Lecointe,  Georges  :  "Expedition 
Antarctique  Beige." 

Sociite  Royale  Beige  de  Giograpkie,  Bulletin,  Vingt-quatri^me 
Annee,  1900,  pages  365-531  : — Gerlache,  A.  de :  "  Notes  sur  les 
expeditions  *  *  *  aux  rCgions  circumpolaires  voisines  du 
meridien  du  Cap  Horn"  and  "  Relation  sommaire  du  voyage  de 
la  Belgica." 

The  Geographical  Journal,  Vol.  XVII.,  1901,  pages  150- 
180: — Arctowski,    Henrik  :   "  Exploration  of  Antarctic  Lands." 

The  Geographical  Journal,  Vol.  XVIII.,  1901,  pages  354- 
394: — Arctowski,  Henryk :  "The  Antarctic  voyage  of  the 
'  Belgica'  during  the  years  1897,  1898,  and  1899." 


204  ANTARCTICA. 

"  Terre  de  Danco,"  after  a  Belgian  officer  of  the 
expedition,  who  died  on  June  5th,  1898.  On  the 
west  is  an  archipelago,  and  the  action  of  the 
Belgians  does  them  credit,  for  recognizing  how 
much  honor  is  due  to  Palmer  as  a  discoverer  in 
this  portion  of  the  Antarctic,  they  christened  this 
archipelago,  "  Archipel  de  Palmer,"  and  so  marked 
it  on  their  charts.^** 
J  Over  a  hundred   islands  were  discovered    in  Ger- 

lache  Strait,  on  both  sides  of  which  are  many  peaks, 
and  great  ice  and  snow  masses.  Many  names  were 
bestowed,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  Licige, 
Gand,  Braband,  Anvers,  and  Wiencke  Islands.  The 
officers  made  several  landings  and  many  discov- 
eries, and  instead  of  raising  flags  to  take  posses- 
sion of  newly-discovered  lands,  they  decided  that  the 
first  chart  of  a  new  country  was  as  good  a  deed  to 
the  title  of  land,  as  the  formality  of  pinning  a  bit 
of  bunting  to  a  temporary  post  and  drinking  to  the 
health  of  a  royal  ruler.     Mr.  Arctowski^  found  an 

""  Lieutenant  de  Gerlache,  in  his  papers  in  the  Socitti  Royalc 
Beige  de  Geographic,  Bulletin,  1901,  has  applied  the  n;ime  of 
"  Gerlaclie  -Strait"  to  "  Belgica  Strait,"  "  Gcrritz  Archipel- 
ago" to  the  islands  west  of  the  strait,  and  "  Palmer  Land"  or 
"Trinity  Land"  to  the  northern  coast  of  the  mainland.  "Ger- 
lache .Strait,"  it  seems  to  me,  sluiuld  be  adopted.  "  Gerritz 
Arcliii>elago  "  will  have  to  be  given  up,  and  "Palmer  Archi- 
pelago"  retained,  this  including  "Trinity  Island." 

""'  Mr.  Henryk  Arctowski  has  publLshed  a  number  of  scientific 
papers  about  the  Antarctic.      Among  lliini  may  be  cited  : 


GERLACHE.  205 

insect  here,  which  is  probably  the  first  one  reported 
from  Antarctica ;  it  was  ahiiost  microscopic  in  its 
dimensions.  In  about  three  weeks'  time,  the  "  Bel- 
gica "  sailed  without  serious  difficulty  more  than 
three  hundred  kilometers  southwesterly  through 
Gerlache  Strait.  To  the  east  the  shore  line  of 
Danco  Land  was  unbroken  :  there  were  many  deep 
indentations,  but  no  passage  into  the  Atlantic.  A 
continuous  wall  of  ice,  from  fifteen  to  thirty  meters 
high,  fronted  the  coast  everywhere.  Danco  Land  is 
from  six  hundred  to  twelve  hundred  meters  hieh, 
with  mountains  farther  inland,  perhaps  eighteen 
hundred  meters  in  altitude.  Every  valley  and  every 
surface  which  was  not  perpendicular  was  buried 
under  a   sheet   of   ice.     The  "  Belgica "  was  unable 

Expedition  Aiitarctiquc  Beige:  "  R^sultats  du  voyage  du 
S.  Y.  Belgica;  Meteorologie,"   Anvers,  J.  E.  Buschmann,  1901. 

Sur  les  Aurores  Auslralcs  ct  Boreales,  Bruxelles,  P.  Weis- 
senbruch,  1901. 

Cielct  Tcrre,  20^""-'  ann6e :  ' '  R^sultat  pr^liminaire  des  observa- 
tions m^t^orologiques,"  etc. 

Notice preliminaire  sur  les  sediments  marins,  etc.,  Bruxelles, 
Hayez,  1901. 

Sur  les  icebergs  tabulaires  des  regions  antarctiques :  Les 
calottes  glaciaires  des  regions  antarctiques :  Notice  sur  les 
aurores  australes  observees  pendant  I' hivernage  de  r expedition 
antarctique  beige  :  Sur  les  periodes  de  I'aurore  australe  :  Sur 
rancienne  extension  des  glaciers  dans  la  regio7i  des  terres 
decouvertes  par  I' expedition  antarctique  beige,  etc.  :  Paris, 
Gauthier-VilLirs. 

Arctowski,  Henryk  and  Thoulet,  J.  :  Expedition  A?itarctiquc 
Beige:  "Rcbultats  du  Voyage  du  S.  Y.  Belgica;  Oc<lanographie, " 
Anvers,  J.  E.  Buschinann,  1901. 


206  ANTARCTICA. 

to  follow  the  coast  far  enough  south  to  determine 
whether  Danco  Land  is  continuous  with  Graham  Land. 
On  February  13th  the  "Belgica"  was  fairly  through 
Gerlache  Strait,  and  for  the  next  few  days  sailed  south- 
west through  an  icy  ocean,  obtaining  glimpses  of  the 
distant  coast  of  Graham  Land.  On  February  i6th, 
1898,  the  expedition  passed  Alexander  Land  or  Is- 
lands, after  which  they  did  not  sight  land. 

De  Gerlache  now  tried  to  force  his  way  south  and 
west,  and  succeeded  to  a  certain  extent  in  doing 
so ;  but  as  a  result  the  ship  was  frozen  in  and  con- 
sequently wintered  in  the  pack,  from  which  it  was 
finally  liberated  in  March  1899.  The  men  suffered 
severely  from  the  absence  of  sunlight  and  the  lack 
of  fresh  food.  They  were  at  last  driven  to  eat  pen- 
guins, whose  flesh  Dr.  Cook  describes  as  appearing 
to  be  made  up  of  an  equal  quantity  of  mammal,  fish 
and  fowl,  and  as  tasting  like  a  piece  of  beef,  an 
odoriferous  codfish,  and  a  canvas  back  duck,  roasted 
in  a  pot,  with  blood  and  cod-liver  oil  for  sauce.  The 
furthest  southern  point,  71°  36'  south  latitude,  87° 
33'  west  longitude,  was  reached  on  May  31st,  1898. 
Nothing  was  seen  of  Peter  I.  Island,  and  the  course 
of  the  ship  together  with  the  easy  movement  of 
the  ice  pack,  led  Dr.  Cook  to  infer  that  probably 
there  is  no  land  very  near  Captain  Cook's  nor  Lieu- 
tenant Walker's  furthest  points. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  discovery  of  the  Bel- 
gian   expedition    is    that   of  a   continental    tableland 


GERLACHE.  207 

or  plateau  situated  between  75°  and  103°  west  longi- 
tude and  70°  to  71°  36'  south  latitude.  The  depth 
of  tliis  continental  plateau,  from  two  hundred  to 
five  hundred  meters,  with  an  abrupt  fall  to  fifteen 
hundred  meters  towards  the  north,  shows  that  this 
region  also  has  undergone  the  depressive  move- 
ment, which  was  noticed  in  the  lands  of  Gerlache 
Strait.  The  continental  plateau  rises  gently  towards 
the  south  and  lowers  in  its  eastern  portion  towards 
the  north  to  connect  with  the  continental  plateau 
of  West  Antarctica.  It  must  connect  in  like  manner 
fifty  degrees  farther  towards  the  west  with  the 
continental  plateau  of  East  Antarctica.  This  would 
tend  to  show  that  there  is  a  continuous  or  unin- 
terrupted continental  mass  across  the  south  polar 
regions,  and  the  discovery  made  by  the  "  Belgica" 
gives  a  serious  support  to  the  hypothesis  of  an 
antarctic  continent.  The  terreous  nature  of  the 
sediments  of  the  continental  plateau  and  neigh- 
boring regions,  which  contain,  besides  a  grayish 
slime,  a  strong  proportion  of  sand,  gravel,  and  a 
number  of  pebbles  of  rounded  form,  are  in  de- 
cided support  of  this  hypothesis.  The  meteoro- 
logical observations  also  show  that  there  must  be 
a  great  antarctic  ice-cap.  The  minimum  tempera- 
ture, — 43°,  was  observed  in  September  ;  the  maxi- 
mum, +  2°,  in  February.  The  month  of  July,  with 
an  average  of  — 22.5°,  was  the  coldest  of  the  year ; 
the  month   of  February,   with  an   average  of   — 1°, 


208  ANTARCTICA. 

was  the  warmest.  The  mean  temperature  of  the 
year  was  — 9.6°,  an  extraordinarily  low  figure  for  the 
latitudes  reached.  This  low  temperature  can  only  be 
explained  by  the  absence  of  land  towards  the  north, 
and  the  presence  of  an  antarctic  continent  entirely 
covered  with  ice  to  the  south.  The  hypothesis  is 
based  upon  a  fact  which  was  observed  by  the  ex- 
pedition. Every  time  the  wind  blew  from  the  north 
the  temperature  rose,  even  in  midwinter,  to  0°,  but 
did  not  ascend  higher.  As  soon  as  the  wind 
shifted  and  blew  from  the  south,  the  thermometer 
descended  abruptly,  even  in  the  middle  of  summer, 
to  a  low  temperature. 

The  "  Belgica  "  expedition  brought  back  perhaps 
more  scientific  data  about  the  Antarctic  than  any 
other  expedition  so  far,  and  the  captain  and  mem- 
bers deserve  high  praise  for  their  labors. 

Professor    Chun'"*   and    Captain   Krech,  in    1898- 

1899,  led    the    German    deep-sea   expedition   in    the 

'"'Chun,  Carl :  /I us  den  Tiefen  des  Weltmeeres ;  Jena,  Gustav 
Fischer,  1900.     A  good  book  ;  beautifully  illustrated. 

Zcilschrift  dcr  GcscUschaft  fur  Erdkundc  zu  Rerlin ;  Rand 
XXXIV.,  Jahrgang  1899,  Berlin,  W.  H.  Kiihl,  1899,  pages 
75-192  :  "  Die  Deutsche  Tiefsee-Expedition  : — A  :  by  Professor 
I  )r.  Chun : — B  :  by  the  Oceanographer,  Dr.  Gerhard  Schott : — C : 
by  the  Navigating  officer,  Walter  Sachse ' '  :  (Senkenbcrgsche  Bib. 
Frankfurt  A.  M.). 

The  Geos^raphical  Journal,  London:  Vol.  XII.,  1898,  pages 
494-496  ;  Vol.  XIII.,  1899,  pages  297,  298  ;  640-650 ;  Vol.  XV., 

1900,  pages  518-528. 


KRECH.  209 

"Valdivia."  Starting  from  Cape  Town  on  November 
13,  1898,  Chun  steered  south,  and  sailed  close  past 
the  supposed  Thompson  Island  without  seeing  it, 
then  across  the  site  of  Liverpool  Island,  then  across 
the  site  of  Lindsay  Island,  and  then  he  found  an 
island  a  little  further  west,  answering  Bouvet's  de- 
scription, only  that  it  was  smaller.  Bouvet  Island 
was  located — finally,  let  us  hope — in  54°  26'  south 
latitude,  3°  24'  east  longitude.  Lindsay  and  Liverpool 
Islands  are  probably  identical  with  Bouvet  I.sland,  and 
Thompson  Island  is  perhaps  non-existent.  Bouvet 
Island  is  volcanic,  covered  with  one  vast  glacier,  and 
no  trees  were  seen  through  the  telescope. 

The  "  Valdivia "  then  proceeded  east  and  south. 
The  edge  of  the  pack  was  followed  from  8°  east 
longitude  to  58°  east  longitude  ;  the  most  southerly 
point  reached  was  64°  15'  south  latitude,  54°  20'  east 
longitude,  when  the  "Valdivia"  was  one  hundred  and 
two  nautical  miles  from  Enderby  Land.  At  this 
point  the  enormous  icebergs  and  the  strong  ice 
blink  to  the  south  proved  proximity  to  land,  and  it 
is  questionable  whether  some  of  the  high  ice  peaks 
in  the  far  distance  did  not  belong  to  it.  The 
"  Valdivia"  came  north  to  Kerguelen  Island  at  the 
end  of  December  and  then  left  the  Antarctic. 

The  scientific  results  of  the  voyage  are  import- 
ant. The  icebergs  seen  between  Bouvet  Island  and 
40°  east  longitude  were  weather-beaten  and  carved 
into   grotesque    forms ;    suggesting    that    they    had 


2IO  ANTARCTICA. 

already  made  a  long  voyage  and,  therefore,  that  no 
land  exists  between  o°  and  40°  east  longitude,  except 
perhaps  in  high  polar  latitudes.  Between  40°  and 
62°  east  longitude,  where  the  icebergs  increased, 
tabular  icebergs  were  found,  and  the  farther  east 
the  shija  went,  the  more  such  tabular  bergs  did  it 
find.  Some  of  them  were  to  all  appearance  just 
broken  off  the  land  and  showed  no  clefts.  Some 
rocks,  which  had  dropped  from  the  melting  icebergs, 
were  collected  in  trawls  :  gneiss,  granite,  schist  and 
red  sandstone,  but  no  volcanic  rocks,  showing  that 
Enderby  Land  is  not  of  volcanic  origin.  This  is 
surprising  on  account  of  the  soundings  made  by 
the  "  Valdivia."  At  Bouvet  Island  the  soundings 
were  3080  meters,  and  going  towards  Enderby 
Land  they  were  all  over  4000  meters,  many  were 
over  5000  meters,  and  the  deepest  was  5733  meters. 
Between  Enderby  Land  and  Kerguelen  Island  the 
depth  was  not  so  great ;  starting  with  4647  meters 
north  of  Enderby  Land,  a  little  further  it  was  4919 
meters,  the  ocean  shallowing  to  2015  meters  near 
Kerguelen  Island.  This  shows  that  at  least  between 
0°  and  50°  east  longitude  and  south  of  55°  south  lat- 
itude, there  is  a  fairly  regular  and  deep  depression, 
with  no  suggestion  of  a  plateau. 

Mr.  C.  E.  Borchgrevink ^"^   led   an   expedition   to 

*"  The  Gcoirraphical  Jo7i7~iial,  London,  Vol.  XVI.,  pages  381- 
41.1  : — I'orchgrcvink,  C.  E.  :  "  TI10  '  .Snullicin  Cross'  e-\pedition 
to  tlic  Antarctic." 


KRI'X'II,     i;oRCHGKKVINK.  211 

East  Antarctica  in  1898-1900.  He  struck  tlu-  ice  in 
51°  56'  south  latitude,  153°  53' east  longitude,  then 
finding  the  ice  conditions  unfavorable — which  he 
thinks  they  always  are  in  this  locality — he  went  east 
and  sighted  the  Balleny  Islands  on  January  14th,  1899. 
He  had  trouble  with  the  ice,  and  was  forced  north- 
ward and  eastward.  Finally  the  "  Southern  Cross  " 
ran  into  open  water  and  reached  Cape  Adare  on 
February  17th. 

At  Cape  Adare,  Mr.  Borchgrevink  and  the 
members  of  his  party  landed  and  the  "  Southern 
Cross "  returned  north.  The  expedition  spent  the 
winter  at  Cape  Adare  in  Camp  Ridley,  making 
short  journeys  in  the  neighborhood  and  also  scien- 

Borchgrevink,  C.  E.  :  First  on  the  Aiitarctic  Continent,  Lon- 
don, George  Newnes,  1901.  Mr.  Borchgrevink  has  allowed 
an  error  to  be  made  in  the  title  of  one  of  the  charts  of  his 
book.  It  Is  called  "Track  of  Sy  '  Southern  Cross'  over  Wilkes 
Land  !  by  W.  Colbeck,  Sub-Lieut.  R.  N.  R."  The  southward 
track  of  the  "Southern  Cross"  is  marked  as  between  161°  and 
162°  east  longitude,  down  to  66°  south  latitude,  by  162°  and  a  few 
minutes  east  longitude.  The  "Southern  Cross"  was  at  this 
point  at  least  three  degrees  distant  from  the  most  easterly  point  of 
Wilkes  Land  proper  and  it  then  sailed  eastward.  The  ' '  Southern 
Cross,"  therefore,  never  approached  Wilkes  Land  at  any  time 
and  the  title  of  the  chart  is  consequently  incorrect.  The  title  of 
the  book,  however.  First  on  the  Antarctic  Co7itinent,  is  an 
acknowledgment  that  Victoria  Land  is  a  portion  of  the  Ant- 
arctic Continent  discovered  and  named  by  Charles  Wilkes. 

Bernacchi,  Louis,  F.  R.  G.  S.  :  To  The  South  Polar  Rc^io7is, 
London,  Hurst  and  Blackett,  1901.  The  "  South  Polar  Chart" 
in  this  book  is  the  same  as  the  one  published  by  Stanford  in  ac- 
cordance with  Sir  C.  R.  Markham's  extraordmary  suggestion. 


2  I  2  ANTARCTICA. 

tific  observations.  Most  of  the  rocks  of  the  surround- 
ing country  are  of  volcanic  origin,  and  represent 
basaltic  lava  flows  which  have  taken  place  during 
late  geological  epochs.  Six  different  kinds  of  lichen 
were  found,  including  the  ordinary  reindeer  moss : 
specimens  were  obtained  as  high  as  900  meters. 
In  the  lichen  three  distinct  t^'pes  of  insect  were 
found :  apparently  the  second  discovery  of  the  kind 
in  Antarctica.  In  Robertson  Bay  there  is  also  an 
abundance  of  fish,  and  about  five  different  kinds 
were  discovered.  August  was  the  coldest  month, 
the  mean  temperature  being — 25.2°  C.  Many  tre- 
mendous gales  were  experienced,  the  wind  some- 
times exceeding  ninety  miles  an  hour  and  proving 
a  serious  check  to  sledge  expeditions:  these  gales 
always  came  from  the  same  direction',  east-southeast. 
The  "  Southern  Cross "  returned  to  Cape  Adare 
on  January'  28th,  1900.  The  expedition  then  went 
south,  along  the  coast  of  Victoria  Land.  They 
made  a  landing  in  Southern  Cross  I'irth  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Melbourne,  and  another  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Terror.  From  Mount  Erebus  a 
smoke  cloud  was  occasionally  shot  up  into  the  air. 
'l"he  "Southern  Cross"  then  followed  the  ice  barrier 
eastward  until  on  February  17th  it  reached  78°  34' 
south  latitude,  164°  10'  west  longitude,  where  a  break 
was  discovered  in  the  barrier.  Mr.  Borchgrevink 
landed  with  Lieutenant  Colbeck  and  the  Finn  Savio, 
and    proceeded    southward,    reaching    78°   50'   south 


SCOTT,  DRYGALSKI,  NORDENSKJOLD.       213 

latitude,    the     furthest     south     yet     reached.      The 
"  Southern  Cross "  then  returned  north. 

Durino-  die  year  1901,  three  expeditions,  an  Eng- 
hsh,  a  German,  and  a  Swedish,  started  for  the  Ant- 
arctic. A  Scotch  expedition,  under  Dr.  W.  S.  Bruce, 
and  an  Enghsh  reUef  vessel,  the  "  Morning,"  are  pre- 
paring to  sail  in  1902. 

The  English  expedition  sailed  in  the  "  Discover)'  " 
under  the  command  of  Commander  Robert  F.  Scott, 
R.  N.,  and  arrived  at  Lyttleton,  New  Zealand,  on 
November  28.  On  the  way,  the  "  Discovery  "  ran 
down  to  63°  5'  south  latitude,  141°  east  longitude, 
at  which  point  pack  ice  was  encountered  and  any 
attempt  to  penetrate  farther  was  abandoned.  The 
"Discovery"  is  thus  the  first  ship  to  approach  Wilkes 
Land  since  1840.  The  expedition  is  to  proceed  to 
South  Victoria  Land,  also  examine  the  great  ice 
barrier,  and  it  may  or  may  not,  according  to  circum- 
stances, winter  in  the  Antarctic.  The  "  Discovery  " 
is  expected  to  return  in  1903. 

The  German  expedition  in  the  "Gauss,"  sailed 
under  the  command  of  Dr.  Erich  von  Drygalski. 
It  is  to  proceed  to  Kerguelen  Island,  where  a  mag- 
netic and  meteorological  station  is  to  be  established. 
The  journey  to  the  south  is  then  to  be  continued, 
the  principal  field  of  exploration  being  the  Indo 
Atlantic  side  of  the  south  polar  region.  Should 
land  be  discovered  which  can  be  reached,  a  tempo- 


2  14  ANTARCTICA. 

rary  station  is  to  be  erected.  It  is  intended  the 
expedition  shall  return  in  1903  or  1904. 

The  Swedish  expedition  under  Dr.  Otto  Norden- 
skjold  sailed  in  the  "Antarctic"  for  the  South  Shet- 
lands  and  King  Oscar  Land.  An  attempt  will  be 
made  to  ascertain  whether  West  Antarctica  is  part 
of  a  continent  or  whether  it  consists  of  islands  in 
the  southern  part.  A  winter  station  may  be  estab- 
lished somewhere  on  the  east  coast,  and  the  ship 
return  to  the  Falklands  for  the  southern  winter. 
The  "Antarctic"  is  expected  home  in  1902  or  1903. 

Let  us  wish  these  brave  explorers  all  success. 


INDEX. 


PAGR. 

Abu  Rilian  Biriinonsis 21 

Adams,  William 40,  42 

Aclare,  Cape 172,  175,  202,  211,  212 

Adelaide  Island 120,  201 

Ad^lie  Land 130,  131,  132,  133 

Admiralty  Range 172 

Adventure  Islets 137 

Agelet,  Le  Paute  d' 66,  67 

Albertus  Magnus 20 

Alden,  Lieutenant 145,  147 

Alexander  Land 83,  84,  no,  201,  206 

Ann,  Cape 119 

Amerigo  Vespucci      n,  25-30,  163 

Ancient  Mariner,  The 6,  58 

Antarctic,  Early  guesses  about  the 16-25 

Antarctic,  Limits  of  the 11,  12 

Antarctic,  The,  The  term 11,  12 

"Antarctic,"  The 201,  202,  214 

Antarctic  Continent,  Discovery  of,  announced    .    .  157,   158,  159 

160,  161 
Antarctic  Continent,  Naming  of  ....  12,  151,  152,  161,  162 
Antarctic  Continent,  Earliest  suggestions  of  an  .  .  .  61,  80,  91 
Antarctic  Continent,  The  ....     149,  155,  156,  161,  176,  211 

"  Annawan,"  The      92 

Antarctic  lands  first  sighted  .  .  25,  44,  51,  63,  75,  78,  82,  84 
86,  89,  90,  96,  99,  100,  no,  117,  119,  122,  125,  126 
129,  130,  141,  142,  143,  144,  145,  146,  147,  148,  149 
150.  153.  154.  155,  156,  162,  171,  172,  179,  180,   182 

Antarctic  records.  Inaccuracy  of 9 

Antarctica,  circumnavigated 71,  82,  118 

Antarctica,  Landings  in 79,  80,  134,  172,  193,  200 

204,  211,  212 
Antarctica,  Former  extension  of i4>  15 

(215) 


2l6  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Antarctica,  Size  and  limits  of ii,  12,  14 

Antarctica 11,  12,  14,  207 

Antarctica,  The  term 11,12 

Aiitarctica,  a  history  of  Antarctic  discovery g 

Anvers  Island 95,  204 

Aratus 18 

Arctowski,  Mr.  Henryk    ...       10,  85,  95,  187,  193,  204,  205 

Aristotle 17 

Asiatic  Jou7-7iaI,  The 1 60 

"Astrolabe,"  The ■ 127,  130 

Atlases 164,  165 

Attwaye,  Captain 191 

Atrevida,  Spanish  corvette 74 

Aulick,  Captain  J.  H 181 

Aurora  Islands 74,  79,  100,  107,  no 

Australia,  Early  sightings  of 39 

Avery,  Captain 118 

Bacon,  Roger 21 

Baeda  Venerabilis 19 

Baffin's  Bay 163 

Balbi,  Mons 123 

Balch,  Thomas 21 

Balleny  Islands   ....    124,  126,  142,  146,  171,  175,  178,  179 

180,  182,  183,  202,  211 

Balleny,  John 124-127,  147,  170,  180,  181,  182 

Barbinais,  Le  Gentil  dc  La 58 

Barrow,  John 45 

Bchaim,  Martin 25 

Bchren.s,  Mons.  do 60,  61 

Belgica  Strait.     (See  Gerlache  Strait.) 

"  Belgica,"  The      202-208 

Bellamy.     (See  Balleny.) 

licllingshausen.  Captain  F.  G.  von 82-85,  ^7<  92 

Benningen,  G.  van      41 

Bcrghaus,  Hcinrich 77 

Hernacchi,  Mr.  L 177 

Binstead,  Lieutenant 122,  123 


INDEX.  217 


PAGE. 


Binstead-Foxton  Land 122,  123 

Biscoe.John 107,  118-121 

Biscoe  Islands 201 

Bismarck  Strait i93.  i94 

"  Blijde  Bootschap,"  de 41,42,43 

Blosseville,  Lieutenant  de 97 

Bockholt,  J.  van 4^ 

Bond,  Captain  Ralph 9°,  97 

Borchgrcvink,  Mr.  C.  Egeberg 70.  142,  210-213 

Bouvct  Island  .    11,  12,  62,  63,  76,  100,  115,  185,  i88>  209,  210 

Bouvet,  Des  Loziers 61-64,  164 

Brabant  Island 95.  204 

Branstield,  Mr.  Edward 79-8 1.  82 

Bransfield  Strait      S' 

Brisbane,  Mr.  Matthew "^ 

Brosses,  Charles  de 45 

Brouwer,  Hendrick 54 

Bruce,  Dr.  W.  S 213 

Brown,  Captain  James '^7 

Bruggeman,  Mr.  J 10,  47 

Buache,  Monsieur ^9 

Buccaneers 55 

Budd  Land.     (Chart.) 

Burney,  Captain  James 42,  45 

Callahan,  Dr '36 

Candlemas  Isles 71.  ^3 

Carr,  Cape i34>  i35.  i49,  I53.  186 

Carr,  Lieutenant  Overton      '52 

Carrell,  Miss '36 

Case,  Lieutenant  A.  Ludlow 152 

Castiglio,  Don  Gabriel  de 49.  5° 

"  Challenger,"  The 194-196 

"Chanticleer,"   The 93.  94.  "5 

Charts      .    .      13,  82,  95,  96,  106,  114.  i57.  168,  175,  176,  177 

178,  179,  181,  182,  183,  194,  211 

Christensen  Island ^°° 

Chun,  Professor      208-210 


2l8  INDEX. 


PAGR. 


Circoncision,  Cap  de  ki      62,  63,  76 

Claess,  Laurens 49,  50 

Clarie,  Cote 133,  134,  135,  186 

Clothier's  Bay 97 

Cockburn  Island 185 

Colbeck,  Lieutenant 211,  212 

Coleridge 6 

Color  in  Antarctica 198 

Columbus,  Christopher 163 

Colvoccorresses,  Lieutenant  George  M 149 

Conolan,  Dr.  Peter 116 

Cook,  Dr.  Frederick  A 10,  84,  202,  206 

Cook,  Captain  James 30,  68-72,  73,  206 

Cordes,  Simon  de 41 

Coronation  Island 96 

Cortambert,  Mons 22 

Coulman  Island " 172,  202 

Court  martial 146 

Cowley,  Captain 56,  57 

Cressalina,  Ysola  de 52,  53 

Criticism  of  Ross  by  French  editor 183 

Crozet,  Mons 66 

Crozet  Islands 66 

Crozier,  Captain 167 

Crozier,  Cape      172 

Dallmann,  Captain 192-194,  201 

Dallmann  Strait 193,  194 

Dalrymple,  Alexander 45,  68 

Danco,  Lieutenant      204 

Danco  Land 185,  194,  200,  204,  205,  206 

Dante 20 

Darwin,  Charles 126 

Davidson,  Profe.ssor  George 10,  15S 

Davis,  Commander  J.  I'- 102 

Davis,   Lieutenant 14S 

Davis,  Ca])tain  Edward 57 

Dc  Ora  Antarctica 11 


INDEX.  219 

PACK. 

Deception  Island 86,  99,  116,  186 

D6couverte,  Cap  de  la I33 

Dibble,  Mr 140 

Dickson,  Mr.  Walter 188 

Dirc.xz,  Jacob 47,  48,  49 

Disappointment  Bay 151 

"Discovery,"  The 213 

"Dochra,"  The i97 

Dortiz,  Don  Domingo 65 

Dougherty,  Captain 185 

Dougherty  Island 76,  185 

"Dove,"  The 95>  96,  97 

Drake,  Sir  F 40 

Drexel-Biddle,  Mr.  A.  J 10 

"Drumcraig,"  The 197 

Drygalski,  Dr.  Erich  von 213 

Du  ChaiUu,  Paul  B 164 

Duclesmeur,  Chevalier 66 

Ducloz  Guyot,  S 3°,  64-66 

Dumont  d'Urville  .    .    45,  82,  103,  106,  113,  114,  127-135,  i6i 

162,  169,  171,  174,  177,  178,  183,  201 

Dumoulin,   Mons 129,  130 

Dunbar,  Captain  F 85 

Dundee  whalers 198 

Duperrey,  Captain  L.  1 29,  45 

Duroch,   Mons 132 

D'Urville.     (See  Dumont-D'Urville.) 

East  Antarctica 13,  201,  207,  211 

East  Antartica,  Need  of  name 12,  13 

Eld,   Passed  Midshipman      143,  148 

Eld  Peak 143 

Enciso,   Martin  Fernandez  de 29 

Enderby  Land 119.  127,  18S,  189,  209,  210 

Enderby,   Messrs 114,  118,  121 

Eratosthenes 17 

Erebus,  Mount 172,  212 

"Erebus,"  The 170 


2  20  INDEX. 

PACE. 

Erebus  and  Terror   Gulf 1 85 

Errors  in  longitude 104,  105 

Evening  Post,    The 9 

Evensen,   Captain 201 

Falkland  Islands 60 

Fanning,   Mr.    Edmund 75,  76,  7^,  91,  105,  157 

Fanning,  William  A 78,  79 

Fanning' s  Islands 79 

Fauna  of  Antarctica      15 

Faustino,   Signer 105 

Fellner,   Professor 19 

Fernandez,  Juan 39,  71 

Fildes,   Robert 97 

Findlay,  Ale,x.   G 97 

Flora  of  Antarctica 15,  80,  185,  202 

"Flying  Fish,"   The 137,  138,  139,  140,  141,  160 

Forbes,   Mr.   Henry  0 14 

Forster,   Messrs 71 

Fossil  faunas  and  floras 15 

Fossils  in  Antarctica 199,  200 

Foster,  Cape 129,  200 

Foster,   CajUain  Henry 93,  1 15-1 17 

Foxton,   Mr 122 

Foyn  Land 200 

Franklin  Island 172 

Franklin,   Sir  John 171 

Frascr-Macdonald,  Mr 104 

Fricker,    Dr 30,  46,  77,  103,  169 

P'ricderichsen,    Mr.    L 45,  46,  194 

Furneau.x,  Cai)tain 69 

Gallo,   pilot 62,  63 

Gand   Island 95,  204 

Garrison,   Mr.   F.   Lynwood 9 

"Gauss,"   The 213 

Geminus 18 

GCologie,  Pointe 133 


INDEX.  221 

PAGE. 

George  IV.  Sea 113 

Georgia,  South,  or  Isle  of.     (See  South  Georgia.) 

Gerlache,    Lieutenant  Adrien  de 97,  202-208 

Gerlache  Strait  .    .     94,  i2iS,  187,  193,  194,  203,  204,  205,  206 

Gerritsz,   Dirck 42,  43,  46,  47,  49,  51,  95 

Gerrit-sz  Land         46,  79,  95,  204 

Gervaize,  Mons 129 

Gibbs,  Sir  George 180 

Gonneville,  Sieur  de 62 

Graham  Land 92,  100,  no,  121,  1S5,  206 

Grant,  Captain  William 192 

Graz,  Mons 10,  96 

Great  Circle  Sailing  Principle 191 

Gregory,  Professor  J.  W 72,  170,  173 

Guillaume  de  Conches 20 

Habler,  Dr.  K 32 

Haddington,   Mount 185 

Hall,  Captain       93 

Hamilton,  Captain  R.  V 103 

Hare,  Mr.  A.  J.  C 171 

Harris,  John 61 

Harrisse,  Mr.  Henry      28 

Haven,  Acting-master  Edward  H.  de 152 

Hays,  Mons 63 

Heard,  Captain  J.  J 189,  190 

Heard  Island 189,  190,  191,  192 

Heilprin,  Professor  Angelo 103 

Hermite,  Admiral  J.  1' 47 

"Hero,"  The 85,  86,  87 

Herrera,  A.  de 43i  44 

Hersilia  Cove 79 

Hertoge,  Theodoric 53 

Hipparchus 17 

Hoces,  Francesco  de      40 

Hooker,  Dr.  Joseph 185 

Hoorn,  Cape 54 

Hope,  Mount 137 


222  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Hopper,  Mr.  J 76 

Horsburgh,  Mr.  James 77 

Hoseason,  Captain 114 

Hoseason  Island 114 

Hudson,  Captain  William  L.    .  137,  139,  140,  143,  146,  150,  151 

Hughes  Gulf 114,  203 

Humboldt,  Alexander  von 30 

Hurlbut,  Mr.  George  C 10 

Hutton,  Captain 191 

Icebergs,  Depth  of 116,  117 

Ice  Barrier  .    .  127,  12S,  141,  142,  143,  144,  146,  177,  195,  196 

Ice  Barrier,  Great 175,  212 

Icebergs,  Formation  of 61,  102,  no,  119,  120,  131 

Icebergs,  Great 189,  192,  197,  202 

Insects  in  Antarctica 205,  212 

Instructions  of  Lieutenant  Wilkes 1 39.  169 

Jacquinot,  Captain 127 

"James  Monroe,"  The 89,  96 

Jansz,  Barent 43 

"Jason,"  The 199,  200 

Johnson,   Lieutenant 136 

Johnson,  Captain  Robert 107,   108,  129 

Joinvillc  Island 94,  128,  129 

Jomard,  Mons 22 

Jonge,  J.  K.  J.  de 46 

Journal  of  the  Fraiiklin  Inslilute 9 

Juttet,  Mons 96 

Keates,  Captain      186 

Kellock,  Captain 121 

Keltic,  Dr.  J.  Scott 13 

Kemp,  Mr 123 

Kem])  Land 123 

Kendal,  Lieutenant 115 

Kerguelen  Land,  or  Island   .    .    .    .  12,  67,  68,  73,  74,  100,  195 

196,  209,  210,  213 


INDEX.  223 


PAGK. 


Kerguelen,  Yves  J.  de 66-68,  164 

Kieman,  Mr.  J.  T 10 

King  Oscar  II.  Land 200 

Knox  Land.     (Chart.) 

Knox,  Acting  Master  Samuel  R 152 

Konig  Max  Islands.     (See  Heard  Island.) 

Krates      17 

Krech,  Captain 208-210 

Kristensen,  Captain 202 

La  Barbinais,  Le  Gentil  de 58 

Lanessan,  Admiral  de 96 

Larsen,  Captain 199-201 

Larsen  Bay 194,  200,  201 

Laurie,  Mr 96,  97 

Lazarew,  Captain 82 

Le  Gentil,  Mons 64 

Lelewel,  Joachim 21 

Le  Maire,  Jaques 54 

Le  Maire  Strait 54 

Le  Monnier,  Mons 64 

Lewthwaite  Strait 96 

Li^ge  Island 94,  95,  204 

Lindsay,  Mr.  J 76 

Lindsay  Island 209 

Littlehales,  Mr.  G.  W 10,  157 

Liverpool  Island 115,  209 

Louis-Philippe  Land 128,  129 

Lowe,  Herr 83 

"Lyon,"  The,  or  "Leon" 64,65 

Macquarie  Island 141 

Macrobius 18 

Macy,  Captain 75,  1S6 

Magalhdes 42 

Magalhaes,  Strait  of 31,  32,  33,  42 

Mahu,  Jaques      40,  42,  50 

Major,  Mr.  R.  H 18,  39 


224  INDEX. 


PAGE. 


Manilius 19 

Maps,  Early 33-4°.  51-53 

Marchand,  Captain  E 73 

Marco  Polo      163 

Marion  du  Fresne 66 

Marion  Islands 66 

Markham,  Sir  Clements  R.  .    .    .  13,  45,  46,  132,  174,  177,  17S 
Maury,  Lieutenant  Matthew  Fontaine    .    .    .    186,  187,  190,  191 

McCormick,  Dr 170 

McDonald,  Captain 191 

McDonald  Island 191,  192 

McNab,  Mr 124 

Medal  of  XV.  Century      23 

Melbourne,  Mount 172,  212 

Mensing,  Ant 46 

Mercators 35.  52,  54 

Miles,  Mr.  Edward 10 

Mill,  Dr.  Hugh  Robert 80,  103 

Moberly,  Mount 121 

Moltke  Harbor 196 

Monroe  Bay 89 

Montagu,  Cape 71 

Montdmont,  Mons 83 

Montravel,  Mons.  de 113 

Moore,  Lieutenant  T.  L 188,  189 

Morrell,  Captain  Benjamin 100-107,  113,  200 

Morris,  Professor 39 

Motley,  John  Lothrop 45 

Murdoch,  Mr.  Burn 198 

Murray,  Mr.  Hugh 123 

Murray,  Sir  John 103,  161,  195,  196 

Nares,  Sir  George 194-196 

Nation,  The 9 

Nautical  Magazine,   The 15H 

Neum.iyer,  Dr.  Georg 45,  191 

New  South  Greenland 102,  104,  105,  106,  107,  108 

Noort,  Olivier  van 43..^ 


INDEX. 


225 


PAGE. 

Nordenskjold,  A.  E 32 

Nordenskjold,  Dr.  Otto 214 

Norris,  Captain 114,  115 

North,  Mr.  J.  H 145 

North  Land.     (Chart.) 

O'Farrell,  Mr.  John 22 

Orange  Harbor 136,  137,  138 

OrI6ans  Channel 94,  129,  200 

Orontius  Finaeus 33 

Ortelius 37,  51 

"Pagoda,"  The 104,  188,  189 

Palmer  Archipelago,  or  Land  .    .    86,  88,  89,  90,  gi,  94,  95,  99 

114,  128,  129,  137,  157,  186,  187,  203,  204 

Palmer  Land,  Naming  of    ....  88,  92,  93,  94,  95,  128,  204 

Palmer,  Captain  Nathaniel  B 85-95,  96,  97,  115,  128 

200,  203,  204 

Paltsits,  Mr.   V.  H 10 

Parry,  Mount 172 

Paulding,   Hon.  J.   K 139 

"Peacock,"  The       .    .    137,  138,  139,  140,  142,  144,  146,  148 

149,  150,  159 

Pedersen,  Captain      201 

Pendleton,   Captain  Benjamin 85,  91,  98-100,  121 

Pendleton  Bay 99 

Penguins      43.  ^9.  132,  150,  154.  206 

Peschel,  Dr.  Oscar 21,  158 

Peschel,   Dr.  W.   E 10 

Peter   L   Lsland 83,  206 

Petermann,   Dr.    A 103,  191,  193 

Phillips,   Mr.   P.   Lee 10,  97 

Piner  Bay 130,  134,  152 

Pinkney,   Lieutenant  R.   F 139,  163 

Pomponius  Mela 18 

"Porpoise,"   The 133,  136,  139,  149,  151,  160,  179 

Porpoise  Bay.      (Chart.) 

Possession,  Cape 115 


2  2  6  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Possession  Island 172,  202 

Powell,  Captain  Geor<,'e 9°.  94.  95-98>  128 

Powell  Islands 96,  98,  127,  128,  194 

Ptolemies 23,  24,  28,  34,  35,  36,  37,  38,  52 

Ptolemy 17 

Puech,  Admiral 96 

Purchas,   Samuel 45 

Ouaritch,   Mr.   Bernard 26 

Oueros,   Pedro  Fernandez  de 53 

Rainaud,   Mons.   Armand 62,  176 

Rea,   Lieutenant 121 

Rees,   Captain 191 

Reiter,   Dr.   Hans 14.  158 

Reynolds,   Passed  Midshipman 143,  148 

Reynolds,   Mr.  John  N 75>  92,  109,  136 

Rejnolds    Peak 143 

Rhabanus  Maurus 19 

Rhodes,  Captain 74 

Richter,   Dr.   Arthur 10 

Ridley,  Camp 211 

Ringgold,   Lieutenant-commander     .    .     133,  139,  142,  144,  146 

147,  149,  154,  171,  179 

Ringgold  Knoll      144.  182 

Robertson  Bay 212 

Rol)in.son,   Mr.   Charles 9°.  97 

Roch6,   Antonio  de  la 3°)  55 

Rocks  on  icebergs 126,  149,  155,  156,  188 

Rogers,  Woodc      57>  58 

Roggeveen,  Admiral  Jacob 59-6i 

Rosenthal,  Mr.  L 31 

Rosnevet,  Captain 67 

Ross,  Sir  James  Clark 70,  122,  167-185 

Ross,  ErrorsofSir  J.  C.  .    .      169,  174,  175,  176,  177,  178,  181 

182,  183 

Ross,  Sir  John 163 

Ross  Gulf.     (Chart.) 


INDEX.  227 


PAGli. 


Ruge,   Dr.  Sophus 16,  32,  46,  50 

Ruysch's  Ptolemy 28 

Sabine,   Mount 172 

Sabrina  Land 126 

Samuel,   Mr.   Bunford 10 

San  Sebastiano,  Golfo  de 52,  53 

Sandwich  Land 53,  71,  loi 

Santarem,  Vicomte  de 22 

Sauvage,  Mr.  J.  P.  de 10 

Savio,  The  Finn 212 

Schmidt,  Professor 20 

Schoner,  Johannes      31.  32,  33 

Schouten 54 

Schrader,  Dr.  K 196 

Schuck,  Captain  A 45,  46,  104,  113 

Scott,  Commander  Robert  F 213 

"  Sea  Gull,"  The 1-36,  137 

Sealers,  American P     108-110 

Seals 79,  109,  116,  142,  192 

Sebald  de  Wirt 41.  42 

Seixas  y  Lovera     55 

Seleukos,  the  Chaldaean 16 

"Seraph,"  The      92 

Seymour,  Cape 129,   199,  200 

Shag  Rocks in 

Sharp,  Captain  Bartholomew 55.  56 

Sheffield,  Captain  James  P 78,  79,  85 

Shelvocke,  Captain  George 58,  59 

Ships,  Names  of 97 

Ships  lost 97,  98,  122,  126 

"Slaney,  H.  M.  S."      79,  80,  81 

Smiley,  Captain  William  H 186,  187 

Smith,  Mr.  G.  Harnett 174 

Smith,  Mr.  William 77.  78 

Soderini,  Pier 25,  28 

Soundings 144,  148,  150,  210 

South  Georgia 12,  29,  30,  55,  65,  66,  71,  78,  82 

85,  100,  196,  197 


228  INDEX. 

PACE. 

South  Orkney  Iskuids.      (See  Powell  Islands.) 

South  Shetland 78,  80,  Si,  84,  86,  95,  97,  98,  99 

1 10,  III,  121,  136,  194 

South  Polar  Continent 173,  174 

"  Southern  Cross,"  The 211,   212,  213 

Southern  Thule 71 

Sparrmann,  Dr.  Andr6 69 

Spry,  Mr.  W.  J.  J 176 

Stanley,  Henry  M 164 

Stevens,  Henry 31 

Strabo      18 

Supan,  Dr 14 

Svend  Foyn  Island 202 

Swain,  Captain 75,  186 

Swain's  Island 75,  186 

Sydney  Herald,    The      158-160,  182 

Synn  Bygd      22 

Tasman,  Abel 53,  163 

Temperatures 207,  212 

Termination  Land 156,  195 

Terra  Australia  Incognita 32-40,  51-53,  54,  71 

Terror,  Mount 172,  212 

"Terror,"  The 170 

Thompson  Island 115,  209 

Tierra  del  Fuego 40,  52,  53 

Todd,  Captain  C.  C 10,  157 

Torres,  Luis  Vacz  de 53 

Tolten  Land.      (Chart.) 

Tower  Islantl 91 

Towson,  Mr 197 

Traversey  Lslands 82 

Trinity  Island,  or  Land 91.  95.  204 

Tufts,  Mr.  P.  II 10 


Underwood,  Lieutenant  Jose[)h  A 152 

United  States  E.xploring  E.xpcdition    .    .  135-166,  167,  168,  169 


INDEX.  229 

PAGE. 

"  Valdivia,"  The 104,  208,  209,  210 

Varnhagen,  F.  A.  de 30,  32 

Vespucci,  Amerigo.     (See  Amerigo  Vespucci.) 

Victoria  Land 173,  174,  202,  211,  212,  213 

"  Vincenncs."  The     .  139,  145,  14S,  149,  151,  152,  159,  160,  179 

Vivien  de  Saint-Martin 17,  105 

Volcanoes 86,  99,  n6,  151,  172,  200,  212 

Wafer,  Lionel 57 

Wahl,  Dr.  William  II 9 

Waldron,  Purser 152 

Walker,  Captain  John 90,  97 

Walker,  Lieutenant  William  M 137,   138,  206 

Washington  Strait      89 

Watson,   Mr 92 

Watts,  Mr.  Harvey  M 10 

Webster,  Dr 45.  9i.  93.  116,  117 

Weddell,  Captain  James 110-113,  114,  157,  185 

Weildell  Sea 113 

Werner,  Dr 19,  20,  21 

West  Antarctica      .    .     13,  77,  84,  104,  105,  184,  185,  193,  194 

198,  199,  201,  207,  214 

West  Antarctica,  Need  of  name 12,   13,  104 

Whales 202 

Wharton,  Captain  W.  J.  L 185 

Wichmann,  Dr.  Arthur 46,  50 

Wichmann,  Dr.  H 193 

Wiencke  Island 204 

Wieser,  Dr.  Franz  R.  von 17,  31,  32 

Wihelmi,  Mr.  Karl 22 

Wilkes,  Lieutenant  Charles  .    .      12,  72,  134,  135-166,  167,  168 

169,  170,  171,  173,  175,  176,  177,  178 

179,  180,  181,  182,  183,  186,  195,  211 

Wilkes  L;md    .    .    .  162,  164,  165,  166,  173,  174,  176,  177,  178 

179,  183,  211,  213 

Wilkie  Collins 171 

William,  Mount 121 

Williams,  Captain  E 85 


230  INDEX. 

PACE. 

Williamson,  Gunner 147,  148 

Winsur,  Justin 23 

Wintering  in  Antarctica 98,  206,  211,  212 

Wood,  Lieutenant 171 

Yankee  Harbor 86,  88 

Young,  Dr 79,  80,  81 

"Zel6e,"  The 127,  130 


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